Monday, February 1, 2016

Would you rather have a barker or a meower?

Are you a dog person or a cat person? Which do you think is more playful, a cat or a dog?
 
This is Howie when he was eight weeks old.
 
 
This is Howie four years later. He and his boy, grandson Kyle, are best buds.
They are both sitting. When they stand up, they are both over 6 feet tall. They wrestle, and Howie puts his paws on Kyle's shoulders when he stands up. They hug and nuzzle. It is too cute.
 
This is our Kitty No-No who loves his bag more than any of his toys, and he has many toys. 
He hides in his bag, peeks out at us as though we can't see him. He bites it, rips it, and when he gets one side open, he runs through the house with it on his back like a turtle shell, sliding on the carpet, rolling like a silly boy. Sometimes the bottom of the bag ends up on top, the bag wide open, and he is sitting there ON the bag completely exposed. The expression on his face is total confusion. He can't figure out why he isn't IN the bag. We laugh so hard at his antics. He has such a time when he is his inside his bag. I call him and say, "Where ARE you?" He peeks his head out and looks to see me. Then darts back in.
As you can see, I am not the only one who loves this silly kitty. He thinks Bill is alpha cat. Kitty  rolls over and lies on his back and allows Bill to pet his stomach!
However, when the cat is sitting in the hall and Bill walks by, he reaches out and strikes him (no claws) and wants to be chased. I keep telling my honey that having an animal makes a person live longer. Bill says, "That's only true if your cat doesn't try to trip you as you're going down the basement steps." This silly cat has to be wherever we are.

We all have busy and somewhat stressful lives, but all work and no play...you know the adage. Take some time today to be playful. Pause, smile, relax, do something that gives you great pleasure. Don't eat the entire bag of cookies; nibble ONE rather than gobble.

Share something that makes you smile, chuckle or belly laugh. Then go treat yourself.  

8 comments:

Bookie said...

Wow, that Howie is some dog!! I am definitely more dog than cat person. I have not had a lot of luck with cats as they often make my eyes itch! Picture of Bill and KItty is adorable!

Karen Lange said...

Howie has grown a bit, hasn't he? As has your grandson, I'm sure! I would choose dogs over cats, although I did have a kitty when I was young. His name was Boots because he was black with white feet. Yeah, I was pretty creative in the name department when I was 8. :)

Anonymous said...

I like both dogs and cats but since hubby is not crazy about cats, when our last cat died, we've stuck with just dogs.

Is Howie a golden doodle? He is a cutie (as is your grandson).

You are right. Having a pet does extend one's life. But Bill's right too. (You should watch the movie, "The Ladykiller" with Tom Hanks. The last 20 or 30 minutes of the movie makes the rest worth it. (Lots of language, but Tom Hanks plays an evil schemer.) There is a cat in the movie who definitely does NOT help extend some people's lives...

Pat Wahler said...

I believe it's true that a person is either predominantly a dog person who also likes cats, or a cat person who also likes dogs. In my case, dogs usually come first in my affections (please don't tell Bogey).

My never-weary new puppy is adding a boatload of additional steps to my activity tracker, and lots of laughs to my life.

Pat
Critter Alley

Val said...

My students always make me smile. Just this morning, one (a high-schooler) asked me if I ever felt like a dolphin. (?)

Um...did she mean as a snack? Like I was born the wrong species? Do I swim around the bathtub? We'll never know, because she got us laughing so much the bell rang before I could clarify.

Connie said...

I love both cats and dogs and have owned both at various times in my life. Just a few months ago, our toy poodle died. He had a long and full life with us living to be 15 years old. We have no plans to get any new pets, at least for a while. We want to be able to pick up and go anywhere whenever we want without worrying about who will care for a pet. Maybe some day we will have another, but we are content without one for now. They do bring us much joy. Your cat sounds like a lot of fun. :)

Unknown said...

I'm treating myself by reading this cute post, Linda! I'm more of a cat person, and I love your silly kitty No-No (great name!). Howie is also cute, though. Sounds like you have quite the menagerie in your family -- and no, I wasn't counting Bill ;). Thanks for the smiles. :)

Janet, said...

Howie is so-o-o big! We are dog people. It surprised me when my oldest son got married - he became a cat person. He had to. His wife had two cats - they now have three. But, I am sure he still holds a soft spot in his heart for dogs.