Crista’s Cats
Our daughter with husband and their daughter are visiting Florida State University in preparation for our grand-daughter’s first year of college. Gone for nearly three days, they have charged the grandparents—us—with the care of their cats, a menagerie of four felines, ranging in age from young whipper-snapper to the elderly.
Black-and-white-furred Daisy at age 15 is old and slow, content to cuddle in her soft “nest.”
Smoky is late middle-aged and accustomed to the spacious household, padding around the house and looking wary when we approach. Cleo and Juniper both from the same litter, are nearly 1 ½ years old—Cleo larger and more pushy than Juniper, her “sister.”
Crista has laid out labeled feeding dishes and food along with strict instructions of what to do when while they are gone. “Watch out! The greedy ones will push out the slower ones,” she warns. Almost an empty nester, the cats are her “babies” now.
How two of the cats fared with Grandpa Cliff
Cats amused English poet, T. S. Eliot’s too. In fact, he wrote poetry about his pets.
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats is a collection of whimsical, light poems by T. S. Eliot about feline psychology and sociology. These poems, published by Faber and Faber, were originally intended to amuse Eliot’s friends.
Eliot’s collection served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 musical Cats.
T. S. Eliot, gave comical names to the cats who prowled his study and his imagination: Jellorum, Pettipaws, Wiscus, and George Pushdragon. Eliot’s cats were mysterious, secretive, and somewhat selfish, with personalities perhaps like your cats, or the one(s) you know about.
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Aunt Ruthie with Fritzie II or III enjoying summer breezes on her porch, 1998
My Aunt Ruthie was a “dog” person. Although she once owned a lamb or two, she enjoyed a series of dogs, usually Schnauzers, a lively breed. Ruthie was (mostly) up for the challenge of all of her dogs named Fritzie, including the fourth one, Fritzie IV–until she got older and lived in a retirement home.
My sister Jean orchestrated finding a new owner for Fritzie IV, one with the energy to keep up with an excitable, over-active canine. The Kauffman family with a 14-year-old son turned out to be the perfect fit.
Now Fritzie would have regular “runs” to release his energy outdoors and even get treated to the glamor of spa days.
To the Greeks and Romans, the “dog days” occurred around the time Sirius appears to rise alongside the sun, in late July in the Northern Hemisphere. They believed the heat from the two stars combined to make these days the hottest of the year, a period that could bring on fever or even catastrophe.
The Romans referred to this period as “dies caniculares” or “days of the dog star,” which was eventually translated as just “dog days.” Actually, the expression dog days is not about panting dogs lazing around in the heat as it refers to Sirius, the dog star, appearing in the night sky, prominent in its constellation, Canis Major.
Inquiring Minds Want to Know. . .
If you have pets, how do you care for them during extreme weather, heat or cold?
Has caring for your cat or dog been a challenge for you—maybe during period of illness? Travel times? Being less active?
I have written about pets before: The Power of Pets.
And, A Cat Tale: How Do You Accommodate?
Birthday Sale – Special Pricing, My Checkered Life!
Special offer during July, my birthday month
Good morning, Marian! I’m glad you and Cliff are taking good care of your daughter’s cats, and I hope your granddaughter has a great year in college.
We always had dogs when I was growing up, but I do love my cat. When we had multiple cats in our household, we did have to watch them at mealtimes to make certain everyone got their food.
Since I’ve known you, Merril, you’ve had a cat close by. If that kitty-cat is not a muse, he/she is certainly a warm and fuzzy companion. Congrats again, number 1 responder! 😀
Yes, I’ve always had a cat since you’ve known me. 💙
Hi,
I enjoyed reading your post. I like both dogs and cats. My last cat was a pretty dark black with emerald eyes and was named Clay. I had him for 22 years. Since then, I haven’t had one but who knows. that might change.
I also forgot about dog days. I remember when it would get extremely hot at the end of July in my hometown in Georgia, people would say we are having dog days or we have entered the dog day season.
Have a great week.
Shalom shalom
I can picture that cat with the dark black fur and emerald eyes. . . sounds stunning. Twenty-two years seem like a long life-span for Clay. You must have taken the best of care of him.
North Florida is hot, hot these days, as usual. I wonder what the weather is like in Germany.
Shalom to you too, Pat! 😀
Woo! Congrats to your granddaughter on her first year! I’m sure you’re taking good care of the cats! They look content. 😊 I remember the days of cat sitting for friends!
Maybe your friends are retired now and don’t need your cat-sitting services. I’m sure they appreciated your care. Now you “take care of” Donald the Duck, who provides so many smiles for your newsletter readers!
Thanks for chiming in today, Jill!
What a delightful story. Of course it contains animal ‘tails’ Also I did not know the the musical CATS was based on T.S. Elliots collection of poems. How we learn each and every day. Congratulations to your Granddaughter reaching her year milestone.
Joy, it happens all the time: I learn something new from other people’s blogs, including yours. That’s the joy of blogging, making connections and learning new things. Thanks for joining the chat here. 😀
Ah, it must be comforting for your family to know their cats are in such capable hands. What an exciting time for your granddaughter!
We’ve had dogs practically our entire lives. Their unconditional love is second to none. My wife had a cat when we first married, but she had to give it up when she found out she was allergic to it.
Right now I’m more pumped up about the kids than the cats. Two will be college sophomores, then Jenna the freshman, and our youngest grandson, the tuba player, rising to 10th grade.
I agree: Unconditional love is dog’s’ greatest gift to humans.
Thanks, Pete! 😀
We are servants to our 8.5 year old indoor-only cat. Tessie Belle is solid black with gold eyes. She recently sprouted a single white whisker, along with a diagnosis of diabetes. Special prescription [= expensive!] dry food now, and cleaning up her almost daily accidents leave me wondering about her quality of life. I will be watching closely.
I can tell you adore that golden-eyed kitty, though she entails more care and expense these days. Tessie-Belle, what an adorable name! 😀
I always wanted a black cat and I’d name it Macavity after T.S. Eliot’s poem. Hubby doesn’t want a cat; I desperately do! So we “compromised” and I have a skinny pig (some compromise!!). I can say that when I travel to visit my folks, he easily comes with us. It just means no pit stops or someone has to stay in the car so we can keep it warm/cold, depending on the season. lol
You must have blogged about pet piggy though I don’t recall any details. WOW!
I hope some day you get your wish for a cat named Macavity! If he’s anything like T.S. Eliot’s, he’s a Mystery Cat: “called the Hidden Paw— For he’s the master criminal who can defy the Law.” I can see why you long for such a cat, Jenn. May your wishes come true someday! 😀
As you know, we travel(ed) the world with our dog(s), so it is certainly possible to go about anywhere with them, working around restrictions as they come up. So while life is more challenging with pets, when you adjust to their needs and countries’ regulations, I’d say we don’t particularly have a hard time with them.
When traveling in the hot and humid tropics, we would shave their fur (not too short) and let them swim often. Our boat and campers had fans and we would aim for shady, breezy, or higher altitude locations to camp or anchor.
This year, we’ve been traveling and living in the Andes Mountains, so the heat has not been an issue. On the contrary! At altitudes above 10,000ft, even this close to the equator, we often have to turn the heater on and deal with nasty condensation. It would be nice to see the sun again after six months of clouds, drizzle, and rain!
So, if we could just elevate Jacksonville, we could probably have cooler temps like in the Andes. I believe we should flip temps for a day or two: I wouldn’t mind clouds, drizzle, and rain, and you’d probably welcome the sun.
Yes, Liesbet, you and Mark do a grand job of traveling with daughter Maya. You guys give her the best of care, that’s for sure. 😀
Hi Marian, congratulations to your granddaughter on her first year of college. My granddaughter, too, is starting college this year, and today is her ‘orientation day’. How fast they grow! Thanks for sharing your cat-sitting experience. I’m more of a dog person myself, like your Aunt Ruthie. Two months ago, we had to say goodbye to my granddaughter’s Maltipoo, Tommy. Often having dog-sat for her, my husband and I felt the loss just as much as she and the rest of the family did.
Pet dogs are “people” too and it’s hard when we lose these companions. I remember when our dog Me-Too died, I found it hard to walk up and down the pet aisle in the grocery store, so I can surely sympathize.
You may have seen my 5-star review of your book Misty’s Dreams. Here is a link for others to see as well:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5682443095
Well done, Josephine!
I did see the review! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my book, and for the wonderful feedback. I was so excited when I read it, I immediately dropped you a message through your website. You may not have seen it. Thanks for sharing the link here. Take care!
Oh, glad you saw it, Josephine. As I know from experience, reviews are the best gift you can give an author.
By the way, I don’t believe messaging through my website is active at the moment. Tomorrow when I see my web guy, I’ll need to ask him for a tune-up! 😀
I’m going to forward this post to my daughter who has a dog and three cats. They are definitely part of the family each with their own special needs and personalities. They are also therapy. Something about that unconditional love that pets can do better than humans!
Thanks for sharing–your thoughts and this post, Elfrieda! Yes, I agree. Pets show unconditional love without judgment, a very good thing! 😀
I’m with your Aunt Ruth in being a dog person. We have a portable air conditioner and lots of fans to keep our dog comfortable in hot weather. He needs a lot of exercise, which was difficult for me because he was so strong. After he dragged me into a creek and broke my wrist, my husband had walking duty full-time.
Your dog sounds like a sturdy breed–certainly not poodle or even a labradoodle. Thank goodness your husband could take over walking duty. A broken wrist is a steep price to pay. . . even if it’s for a good cause.
Thanks for sharing this anecdote, Liz! 😀
You’re welcome, Marian. The dog’s a Siberian Husky, so pulling things is instinctive for him.
Oh, yes, that makes sense!
We are a no pet family ever since I became president of Goshen College and needed to travel a lot and entertain people (some of whom have allergies) in our home. But our children now have cats, which our grandchildren love. One is called Biscuit. The other is Cupcake. 🙂
Our grandchildren obviously are growing up with kitty cats, but none with delectable names like Biscuit or Cupcake though. Jenna says she will miss Cleo when she goes off to college. Very soon.
Shirley, you probably grew up with pets on the farm as I did. Like you, hubby and I are content to enjoy pets in our children’s homes now. 😀
This was a fun story to read. I have always loved cats. Then I married my husband and discovered that he is severely allergic to felines. His eyes turn blood red and swell almost shut, within minutes of getting near a cat. But I decided to keep my husband, so now our fur babies are dogs. We have 3, all of which we have found abandoned on the streets over the years: a small white male poodle, a large golden mystery mix female (probably a retriever/husky, with one brown eye and one blue eye), and our newest dog is a medium-sized, merle colored Australian herder. She will herd us all over the house if we let her.
Right now, my biggest challenge is keeping our dogs calm and quiet, while 4 men are working on top of our house, installing a new metal roof. A hail storm destroyed our asphalt roof several weeks ago. The 45 minute hail storm with baseball size hail was very loud, but the roofing job is considerably louder. They have been working from early morning to well past sun down, every day this week. They are drilling directly overhead right now. Thank goodness for the melatonin pet calming treats I bought for the recent fireworks! Hmm… I wonder if these calming treats would work for humans? 😀
That’s quite a story, Linda Lee–both about your pets and the roof installation. I too am allergic to cat dander, so we have no felines. Our last pet was a dog who died shortly after our children left home. At this stage of life, we enjoy the glee our grandchildren share with their pets.
Oh, my goodness! Roof installation is a very loud ordeal. I believe our replacement lasted about 3 days, maybe more. And baseball-size hail seems as though it would do more damage not just to the roof. I’m glad people and pets made it through okay.
Your stories are often dramatic. It sounds as you and hubby do not lead a very boring life–haha! Thanks for sharing once again. 😀
Wishing your granddaughter all the best. We are a pet free home, but I have plenty of dogs in my upcoming series.
Thanks for the good wishes for grand-daughter, Jill!
About pets, I do believe that furry friends add another layer of coziness to story-telling, especially if children are involved. You know the value, of course. I believe your readers enjoy reading plots with both pets and people. Yes!
😀
The image of Fritzie made me smile as he didn’t look overjoyed at the blue adornments to his head with that quizzical one eyed look. I’m sure your grandaughter will enjoy her first year at uni what an adventure it will be for her and cats..I am more of a dog person myself having had a scare with our siamese cat when my daughter was young probably not a good idea for a first cat in hindsight so I now stick with dogs 🙂
Aunt Ruthie would take Fritzie for grooming, but I think the ornaments were a new thing the Kauffman family allowed.
I’m allergic to cat dander, Carol, so dogs are my preference too. Thanks for stopping by today! 😀
I always enjoy stopping by, Marian I hope you are having a good week and have a great weekend 🙂
What fun to be grandcat sitting!! They all look adorable. It’s very hot here right now so we keep our two dogs inside in the air conditioned house. I take them for a walk early in the morning so they get some exercise and then hubby takes them later in the evening. So glad Aunt Ruthie found a good home for her last dog. 💖🐶
Spain must have similar weather to our part of Florida. Early morning and evening are the most tolerable times to be outside. In October, temps will start to moderate.
My sister Jean orchestrated a new home for Fritzie. Aunt Ruthie was in her late nineties and in a nursing home when the exchange was made. We sisters were thrilled to find the Kauffmans!
Thanks, Darlene! 😀
Hi Marian, what a lovely post about cats. I also love cats. Michael will finish school at the end of next year and he’ll be going off to study somewhere too. It is amazing how quickly time passes.
I’m Nana, not Mother, but it seems as though I blinked my eyes twice and these grandchildren are going off to uni, one by one. Best wishes to Michael who has a heap of talent. He’ll do well; he’s such a creative young man!
Thank you, Robbie!
I know, it must be quite a shock when your children have adult children. 😀 Thank you for your kind words about Michael.
I had no idea about the true history of the expression “dog days”! That was fun to learn Marian. Boy, that YouTube video was hysterical with Grandpa Cliff. The words “being respectful” were barely out of his mouth, when the one cat moves on in towards the other dish, lol. I’m allergic to cats, so I’ve never spent much time with them. I just naturally gravitate to the usually friendly behavior of a dog. We had one for 15 years, but so far, have not opted to get a new one. Never say never! Oh, and happy birthday Marian! It must be getting close! 🙂
Melanie, you notice things that others don’t comment on: The comical move of the cat when Cliff declared they were eating separately–Haha! Also, my birthday approaching on Monday. If I can’t reverse aging, at least I can offer a good deal on My Checkered Life.
Your “dog” history sounds a lot like ours. After Me-Too died, we opted not to get another one; the children were leaving home and wouldn’t be able to help with the care (or the joy) of another canine. Thanks for sharing here! 😀
Haha, what a great attitude about your birthday and your book. 🙂 Hope it’s a great day!! ♥ (And yes, my brain can be quirky in what it chooses to focus on. 🙂 )
And here I am, appreciating your blog! That’s a lot of cats to take on. I grew up on a farm where I was the caretaker for the cats we kept around to keep the number of mice and other undesirables down. I adore cats. My husband? Not so much. Hence we had a dog when our kids were young – a Schnauzer/Shih Tzu mix. She was high energy like a Schnauzer, but she’d flop in our arms when picked up like the Shih Tzu. We sure do miss her. Next week we’ll dog-sit our daughter’s new Yellow Labrador puppy. Perhaps that will lead to a blog post? Thanks for sharing your fun pictures and videos.
Arlene, I’m glad you enjoyed the cat/dog stories here. When you feel inspired, I’d love to hear about the Schnauzer/Shih Tzu mix or your daughter’s new Yellow Labrador puppy. Thanks for visiting here once again! 😀
This comment from Melodie Davis, who regularly replies here, but was unable to post this week:
Cat sitting, eh? Thank you for your service! We had a neighbor looking in on our cat every other day while we were traveling recently. But we had to leave our dog at a boarding place, first time ever, because she had developed a urinary issue and our neighbor across the road and his son used to care for Velvet for us. But the older man died last November and his son is physically not up to it either, so wow, we learned what it takes to leave a dog in boarding. $. The dog did fine, but my husband was very sad to leave him. On behalf of your daughter, I say thank you for taking care of their cats!! Sounds well organized.”
It seems as though you and Stuart are both invested in the pets at your house. Yes, it does take money to maintain and/or board our pets.
And, yes, Crista loves her pets. In college, she worked as a veterinary assistant during the summer and has always had dog or cat pets at home. Her husband shares her devotion, a good thing.
I am so sorry you couldn’t post this week. How annoying is that! On Tuesday I meet with my web guy, and I’ll ask him why you have trouble replying on my blog. I hope he has answers, Melodie. 🙁
Marian — Four felines at once? Holy Cannoli! Your daughter is exceptionally fortunate.
From the onset of marriage, Len and I have always had at least one dog or cat animal companion—sometimes a combination of both. At one point, we had three dogs, two cats (and a teenage son). Oy vey!
You have definitely immortalized one of your pets with the winsome antics of Hemingway, a canine sleuth in the Sean McPherson series. Here’s to finding him padding around Pines & Quill Writers’ Retreat, delighting the residents and more. Thanks, Laurie! 😀
I like cats, both in book form, and in real life. Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was my first encounter with T.S. Eliot. Imagine how surprised I was when I read The Waste Land! 😳
That T. S. Eliot had a wide “range” of talent. I came at Eliot from the more serious, literary angle. Imagine how surprised I was to find Old Possum’s Book and Macavity in his repertoire, Ally! 😀
This was fun! I’m so glad Fritzie IV found a good home with an energetic boy and the cats seem mellow to me. We had outdoor cats when the kids were young, but I didn’t like the way they went after birds and I’m not a fan of litter boxes, so it’s dogs for me now. Disco is a great dog in so many ways, but I’m getting to know her in a new way now that my older dog Willow died. Disco always did whatever Willow did, and Willow was an obedient gem. Disco has developed a taste for freedom she didn’t know was possible. She doesn’t run away, but she doesn’t always come when I call and I worry about her and her casual relationship to the road. So we’re back to more dog training and that’s OK. She’s so sweet and gentle but would benefit from spending time with an energetic 14 year old boy. It’s not super hot where I live, but when it is, Disco would rather nap than go outside.
You’ve given me a glimpse into your doggie life post-Willow. Disco sounds like she’s feeling her oats, behaving more like her name would suggest. 😀 However, if she lived in Florida now you wouldn’t have to worry about her safety: she’d be napping through the hot-hot-hot days, temps in the high 90s. (We had a storm and things cooled down for a bit this evening.)
I’m not a fan of cats either. We have a free-range cat in our community. I detest seeing bird feathers, enough evidence to “convict” of
foulfowl play.Thanks for sharing all this, Elaine.
How fun to be grandparents to your grandcats, Marian! My daughter had dogs and cats when she was young. After she left home, we didn’t have any pets. Now my daughter has two daughters. She just adopted two kittens. My grandkids love the kittens.
Congratulations to your granddaughter for going to college. What a big step!
Thank you for tuning in, Miriam. My kids and grandkids think that pets are “people” too–ha! Your family history with pets sounds a lot like ours. 😀