Category Archives: Nemo

Pee Wee (cat) and Betty (dog) caught napping

Posted on by Carol

I walked by the guest room and caught Betty napping her new friend, Pee Wee.

Betty started her life at our neighbor’s house, where she was dumped as a puppy. She grew up in the company of two older dogs and a litter of kittens. One of the kittens became her best friend, and it followed her wherever she went.

So when I brought home lost kitten Pee Wee, Betty was ecstatic. She and the kitten play hide-and-seek through the house. And Ronnie, our cardigan corgi — who’s been leery of cats since our older cat gave him a swat — joins in the fun. In fact, Ronnie can hardly wait to see Pee Wee in the morning to cover him with kisses.

The only one in our household who isn’t joyful is Nemo, our six year old cat who misses his quiet naps by the window. But yesterday, even he was play-wrestling with the new upstart.

Even though Pee Wee’s cute and fitting in, we still consider him a temporary resident. Hopefully we’ll be able to find him a good home with friendly animals and perhaps older children. I don’t think Pee Wee would be an appropriate pet for very young children, because he does have a temper. That combined with rough handling could turn this very affectionate youngster into an old grump.

Opossum crushed; two legs amputated

Posted on by Carol

Hurray! We received the bulk order of rawhide dog chews for Ronnie and Betty. There’s nothing that Betty likes better than to lay under the maple tree with her new boyfriend Ronnie, and gnaw on a good rawhide.

This morning, Ronnie all but polished off his in a single sitting. Wow! That’s determination. At least he’s gone an entire day without chewing the cat’s toy.

Nemo has a favorite toy which, I’m afraid to break it to him, has been discontinued. It’s a mouse-sized opossum stuffed with a rattle ball and just a smidge of poly fill. His current opossum is looking a little haggard, after being discovered by Ronnie again and again over a period of several days. The rattle ball has been crushed, two legs have been amputated, and half of the back has been pulled away. The poly fill is a squashed dust-bunny clinging to the carpet. The faux fur is no longer soft, but stands in stiff, ragged clumps. What’s left resembles road-kill desiccated by the sun.

But Nemo is loyal to his little friend, and persists in carrying him around. With head high and chest pushed out, he struts like a leopard dragging a gazelle.

But after many no’s, I think Ronnie finally understands. He hasn’t touched the mouselike strip of fabric in 24 hours. So in a couple of days, I’ll pull the spare opossum out of the drawer, and Nemo can start afresh. If I can get the opossum off of the cardboard packaging before Nemo grabs it and dashes off.

I definitely need more back-up opossums. I’ve combed the internet, hoping to acquire a lifetime supply for my favorite puttin’ tat. I managed to find a couple at a reasonable price. However, I suppose some cat moms are as desperate as I am, since the $4 toys are suddenly appearing on ebay for $14. Sorry Nemo. Sometimes moms have to say no. :-(

Introducing a new dog to the household

Posted on by Carol

Yesterday, I picked our dog Betty and our cat Nemo up from the veterinarian. They were being boarded while we drove to Texas to pick up our new cardigan corgi, Ronnie.

When I got home, I released Nemo in Sam’s office and then took Betty from the car. We introduced her and Ronnie in the front yard. I held Betty’s leash and Sam held Ronnie’s.

Unfortunately, they approached face-on. To complicate things, Betty was hyper from being penned up for several days. Ronnie reacted with a growl. Before things could get worse, I walked Betty down the street. Sam followed behind us with Ronnie. On the return trip to the house, I asked Sam to walk parallel to us, so that we were walking four abreast. Gradually, each dog got brave enough to sniff the other. We got back to the front yard, and went into the fenced back yard (about 1/3 acre), and just kept walking. Then there was a breakthrough. Betty gave a bow, and they started acting playful.

“Should we take them off the leash?” said Sam.

“There’s plenty of room for one to escape the other; and they’re evenly matched [sizewise]. I don’t see why not.”

So we released them and they went into a play frenzy.

Once both dogs were played out, they were invited inside and Nemo was allowed out of the office. At first the cat kept well away from Ronnie. After a while, Nemo walked past the dog repeatedly, as though to test its reaction. Ronnie ignored him, so Nemo upped the ante by running by him. Still no reaction.

But Nemo still wasn’t convinced. He seemed to feel better after giving poor Ronnie a swat on the snout – and Ronnie backed off with a yelp. Ronnie’s old cat friends were declawed.

This morning, no problems at all. Neither dog is possessive with toys or rawhide chews. After breakfast, Betty and Ronnie played again in the back yard.

Nemo’s given up testing the newcomer, and now all three animals are laying peacefully about my office as I type this. It’s almost as if Ronnie has been a member of the household for years. :-)