5 Star Housesitters

Category: Feline Friends

Three’s company! (and great companionship, too)

Three beautiful little ones to enjoy, how does it get better than that! This mixed trio of two cats and a dog (the smallest of which was the dog) came to us when their wonderful parents looked for some “live-in” pet care while they vacationed. Dogsitting for this fox terrier mix and providing cat care for her two feline housemates, kept us busy, in a fun way!

Sprocket at 11 months was all of about six pounds, and just a handful of puppy spunk and love. Although she was much smaller than either of the cats, she worked tirelessly at establishing her alpha position with them. (Not that cats care about who’s the leader — they tend to be rather libertarian and prefer everyone just go about their own lives and leave them alone 🙂 ). All the dust-ups between Sprocket and the cats needed some attention — occasionally a cat would get very annoyed and claw back, but they generally just gave her the “whatever” look cats have and moved on.

Caring for a six-pound dog can be a lot of fun because they are so transportable, you can take them with on any excursion! (Not saying we hid her in pack-along bags and took her places dogs aren’t technically allowed, but hypothetically, if we did, she’d be hard to notice!) Sprocket is an excellent traveler, up for any experience, very well-behaved for a puppy, and oh so affectionate.

And of course, as a fox terrier, chasing and retrieving “prey” is her favorite game, which can be pretty hilarious when most of her toys are almost as big as she is! Terriers, however, are tenacious, and size doesn’t matter when it comes to getting the “job” done!

The two cats were unique personalities, too. Sedona is a beautiful silver bengal, very confident, curious and affectionate. She enjoys being brushed, and just luxuriates in the feeling of the bristles along her skin. People are very interesting for her, she often hangs around to see what’s up and pick up some loving, too. She is an indoor only cat — you do have to watch as she would LOVE to sneak outside — but she does have a second story deck she can use to enjoy the world.

The bed gets a little crowded at night — “princess” Sprocket, of course, takes the center, and Sedona has to find a nook or bent leg somewhere to get that contact she enjoys at night. Oh, and did I mention this cat likes belly rubs in the morning, too?

And then, there’s Marley, the “ghost.” 🙂 I’m not sure if it’s a tuxedo cat specific thing, but it seems that all the tuxedo cats we’ve watched are, well, scaredy-cats. It can take days for their curiosity to overcome their aversion to new people. Finding a hiding, black “ghost” can sometimes be a bit problematic, so we’ve learned to check with owners about favorite hiding places before they leave (Marley’s favorite was under their bed.)
Good thing Marley enjoyed being brushed, too, or we might never have gotten to enjoy him. Banging the brush vigorously next to the bed eventually got him to poke his head out and enjoy some brushing — that is, until the little terror, Sprocket, would figure out what was going on and come in to assert her “leadership!” And then Marley would dash for cover, Sedona would come in to see what the ruckus was, Sprocket would start with her and…a wonderful, raucous time was had by all! 🙂
Although it was a relatively short dogsitting and cat care engagement, we thoroughly enjoyed, and absolutely fell in love with, all three. Wish we had some video of the cats, but, we do at least have a clip at the beach with Sprocket, at “work!” (Click here, or on the picture.)

May 19, 2016
Crazy for Coco and Loco for Lulu!

We had the opportunity to do some dogsitting and cat care in the Monterey area for two wonderful pet parents. They entrusted us with their little Coco, an adorable two year old girl of mixed breed, and Lulu, the male orange tabby. “Mixed” households can be interesting — sometimes dogs and cats don’t play together well, but there two were fun to be around, individually and together (although Coco gets very jealous when Lulu’s getting the attention!).

Dogs have a wonderful gift of making an open heart sing — their innocence and openness to experience really connects with that memory of being a child in love with life. Little Coco girl has the special gift of giving that momentary connection to virtually everyone she meets — watching people who caught eye of her brighten with joy became a wonderful add-on to the fun of being out with her.

Coco is an intriguing breed mix (Tibetan spaniel?) that just turned out to be practically perfect in every way :). At about 15 to 20 lbs., she’s sturdy, athletic, endlessly cuddle-able, and very transportable, besides being highly intelligent, social, and eager to please, with a sunny disposition to boot.

Coco has a housemate, Lulu, an affectionate, yet independent, and very curious orange tabby. Lulu will keep to himself as the situation requires (he has a doggy door for indoor/outdoor access as he chooses), but he certainly seems to prefer engaging with people — we moved one of his toys into the room where we watched movies, and it was so much fun watching him discover ways to play with it when we were there! Like many cats, he also enjoyed being in physical contact with us at night, sleeping in the crook of a bent leg until his internal alarm clock rang his “I’m hungry, right now!” bell (usually pre-dawn, of course).

When people hear we watch cats, too, we often get the question about cats and “gifts,” a particular hazard with indoor/outdoor pets. It’s not a regular occurrence, but, yes, Lulu was very demonstrative about his affection. How thoughtful, in cat world, to forego a tasty mouse you’ve killed to offer it as tribute, you would think “they” would be more appreciative! Although we understand the nature of the compliment, we could have done without Lulu’s rodent cuisine!

Coco’s beach video

The Monterey area has a terrific amenity — in addition to dog parks and off-leash open space, they have a beautiful and spacious beach where off-leash dogs are welcome! Coco’s enthusiasm for beach play is infectious — that ecstatic smile and uninhibited romping made many beach goers’ faces light up. This is a link to a video we shot of her (or you can just click the picture!)

Leaving these two after our dogsitting and cat care duties were complete wasn’t easy (even when the owners came back, both Coco and Lulu spent one more night cuddling with us in bed!), but they have such wonderful, loving parents, we’re just happy we have the opportunity to spend time with them!

May 16, 2016
Sweet Sidney, our “hospice” cat sit in Cape Cod

Sidney’s blue eyes and sweet disposition will melt any animal lover’s heart! Little Sidney is a fourteen year old Siamese we were engaged to pet sit for a month in Cape Cod, diagnosed last year as having congestive heart failure. Because of his advanced condition, our time with him was on a hospice pet care level — it was quite a responsibility knowing his prognosis was such that we might need to make the call to the vet..

The doctors feel he’s on borrowed time, but, with lots of love and attention, and strict adherence to his “pilling” schedule, he’s still experiencing a really high quality of life (as of this writing) — to the astonishment of all, he even made the trip to the owner’s winter home in the Caribbean after their return and is still doing cat things (especially eating!)

We had some tough days with Sid — the doctors adjusted his heart medication downward and he was not wanting to leave the bed or take any food. After consultation with the owner, we asked the local vet to evaluate his condition and let us know what the responsible course of action should be, which was really difficult. However, she elected to re-up his heart medication even though his kidney numbers were poor, and give it overnight to see how he responded.

Fortunately, we were able to get him to eat (even though it was “breakfast in bed” for a while), and in time he became more interested in food and other “cat” activities,including a “mouse in the house” kill! Obviously it was yucky having a mouse in the house (thank goodness for sonic repellents, they work pretty well!), but it was certainly an encouraging sign.

Although his activity level remained low and his breathing was more difficult, Sidney is not giving any real indication he is “on his way out.” The pilling regimen (which required inserting the pill into his mouth directly — too smart a cat to be duped by trying to tuck it into a treat or mushing it up with some tasty food!) and diligence on our part with presenting food often seems to have gotten him to a plateau that is comfortable for now — we’ve heard from the owners in the Caribbean and he made the trip just fine; gets outside in the sunshine periodically, eats just fine and sleeps a lot, but not so bad for a 14 year old with a heart condition!

AND, the very best thing about Sidney — his soulfulness, and interaction with people. Even in the bad times, Sidney always loved cuddling — curling up in your arm, on your lap, between your legs or on your chest at night — he loved contact with people, and we were privileged to be part of the group of people he chose to share that love and connection with.

October 20, 2014
Baby Barney “Barn Cat”

We had booked 4 months housesitting in Chicago, and, about a month before we were scheduled to come in, there was a new “arrival” at the household, Barney! Barney was a feral little baby who wasn’t doing very well on his own, so the homeowners captured and adopted him. He was four months old when we came in, and, really, who wouldn’t fall in love with that little face!

Maybe it’s just Barney, but this little kitten, even though he started life feral, always wants to be “part of the family.” His skittishness about sudden movements and noises is perfectly balanced by his curiosity and interest in engaging with people — how many kittens bring a ball and place it at your feet to get you to play with them? Cats are aloof and independent? We think not! 🙂

Our time in Chicago also included “personal assistant” help for the busy professionals, including depositing rental checks, gathering tax materials for their accountant, and “curating” mail for items that might merit their attention. We enjoyed keeping in contact with them via email — they were on a world cruise and had fascinating experiences to share! — and we were honored by their level of trust.

Although it was one of the coldest winters on record in Chicago, the joy of raising Barney and developing a friendship with his parents warmed our hearts plenty, making it a truly remarkable experience!

August 4, 2014
A Thanksgiving full house with a King Charles spaniel and 3 cats, continued!
We did! We did! We did see a puddy tat, and it looked just like…Sylvester!

Sylvester is a long hair, and the “original” family cat. Unfortunately for him, two other male cats — Lovey and Lionel — were very poor guests, and tormented him relentlessly, flushing him out of every solitary place he could find, looking to mix it up!

Now, don’t misunderstand, on their own, Lovey and Lionel were a lot of fun! Lovey was very loving, in fact, he’d surprise the heck out of us by literally attempting to jump into our arms if we were passing by! Lionel was skittish and shy, but once you gained his confidence, he was very sweet and enjoyed being loved on.

The dynamics of cat behavior are mysterious, particularly so when:
- There are three
- They are all male
- Two of them are new to the ‘hood
We would have loved to be able to able to connect with them more on and individual level, (particularly poor Sylvester)!, but, at least we were successful keeping the peace!
November 28, 2013
Vera, with the beautiful green eyes

Our housesitting and petsitting engagement in Phoenix included a domestic cat, Vera.

Vera was a rescue, raised from about 4 days old in a family with dogs. Besides being just a beautiful girl, Vera was also completely endearing — she was very independent, but so enjoyed being held and cuddled. You would think having a bell around her neck would make hunting a problem, but somehow, Vera was able to successfully stalk and capture…stuff, fortunately for us, mostly manageable items such as crickets. She also had a strong food drive, so getting her attention was relatively easy (for a cat)!

Most of all, Vera was a pleasure to be housesitters and petsitters for, because she seemed to genuinely enjoy human companionship — yes, because that’s where her food comes from, but there also seemed to be a sense of “this is my pack,” which kept her hanging around her peeps (even the substitute ones!)

November 21, 2013
Rag doll cats — beautiful, sweet and affectionate!

Cats are such a great choice for people who look for 4-legged companionship and have a busy schedule! They are brilliantly independent, and often times really affectionate, which fortunately was the case with beautiful Bailey and Toby, two rag dolls we had the pleasure of watching over in Colorado!

Bailey

Interestingly, these were a mixed gender pairing — Bailey the elder female and Toby the younger male. Their interactions were fun to watch — mostly mad scampering by one or the other when their privacy boundaries were invaded, and Bailey’s occasional swatting of Toby when his stalking her really got annoying — but they certainly got on well for a pairing we had heard was not optimum.

It was also wonderful getting back to Colorado, our home before the adventure began. Colorado in the fall is one probably the best time of the year, the weather patterns are more stable than most other seasons, mostly dry and mild to warm, although we did have the “usual” overnight snow then back up to high 60’s the next day cycle! After spending so much time on the west coast, it was a bit of a shock having to put on jeans and a COAT! but the clear crisp beauty of the sky at altitude contrasted against the fall leaves is as breathtaking as we remembered.

Toby

We absolutely fell in love with the rag doll breed after watching these two, the only caution we’d have for people considering them is — cat hair! Toby in particular was practically an exploding white puff ball, everywhere he went, but, at least the overcoat of white hair we wore with us whenever we left the house were a constant reminder of the sweet little ones we left at home! 🙂

Their mom is very lucky to have them, and we were very lucky, too — both to be able to share time with them and to get to know their wonderful and gracious mom!

November 4, 2013
Idget and Fig, California Cool Cats

Our California days included time along the 101 near Thousand Oaks with two very cool cats, Idget and Fig.

What different personalities! Idget loves to explore, Fig loves to burrow and nest. And both are so affectionate — Fig will plop down in front of you to get some love (she has a beautiful purr), Idget even allows herself to be picked up and cradled for some cuddling time.

Idget’s a very assertive little girl. When meow’s aren’t working to get the humans’ attention, she’ll do what it takes — walking across the keyboard, even a headbutt to the forehead if that’s what’s needed to the human “on task.” Little Fig is much more wary and cautious — walking into to the garage, an area she might have surveyed just a few hours before — requires a very stealth-like, slow and steady and approach before you make the commitment to cross the threshhold and thrust yourself into the unknown…garage…

The Conejo Valley area, where Fig and Idget live, is a really unique pocket. More a “high desert” climate, but only 15 minutes to Malibu beaches. Sitting on the inland slope of the Santa Monica Mountains, the terrain has that “western” feel, which is probably why it’s still used for Hollywood western sets (the old Paramount ranch, and the exterior location for M*A*S*H are just minutes away).

We are so grateful to have had the opportunity to love Fig and Idget, to explore this area, and to get to know Fig’s and Idget’s beautiful mom!

September 16, 2013