My Plant

I've got a new plant that I'm caring for. Trying not to give it too much water or too little. And the same for sunshine and shade and being indoors. (Except yesterday I was too busy and forgot it, so it was inside all day.)

It's called Diamond Frost, which I'd never heard of. I read the tag in a little more detail after I had it home. And, I don't know much about plants, but it says something like it was developed by a particular company and that it's prohibited to propagate it. Does that mean what it sounds like to me? Is this thing natural or Frankenstein?

Prohibited to propagate it? I hope it doesn't take over and shoot spores everywhere that I can't control. I don't think I would've bought it if I knew it came with special rules. But I don't know anything about plants.

Now I have two things to care for, the dog and the plant. Well, the cats might constitute a third thing, speaking technically. Dog, meet your brother, Diamond Frost. Diamond Frost, meet your sister, Dog. Neither of you disturb the cats, please, so they won't need anything.

The Language Animals Know

I'm constantly on the lookout for what my animals know, the cats and dog.

They start out knowing nothing about us, our mannerisms, what we say, all that. But then in the course of time they learn all sorts of things, whether to trust us or not.

Somehow they come to associate their name with themselves. I'm still not exactly sure how that happens, except obviously by repetition. But whether they know the names of the others, that's not always clear. I do think our dog knows the words we use for the cats individually.

Then there's all the other things we communicate, especially with the dog. The dog comes in for a lot more interaction because of the bathroom duties. And she, being a dog, cares to be with us more in an intimate and ongoing way than the cats. So she responds to things that are kind, sweet, complimentary, and comes to know things like "Stay" and "No." We think of "sit" as a kind of trick, which is just more of the same.

One thing the cats get trained to respond to, by getting a treat or by having something that will be to their liking, is "Kitty, kitty, kitty" in a high pitched call. You figure they're a blank slate till they get the associations.

My Cat's Jealous Of My Paws

... I mean, hands.

He's anxious to get his food in the morning. The way he judges time is by my movements. So if I go downstairs an hour early, he thinks it's time to eat. But sometimes I need to go downstairs to get something. I hate to do it because I know he'll appear, ready for food. "Not time yet, sorry."

Then when it is time, downstairs I go. He reappears, and of course this time it is time to eat. I open the pantry, get the bag of dry food and get a can of wet. I pour the dry. I open the can and scoop it into a dish. Then it's all set in place.

How much better it'd be from his point of view if he could only open the pantry, get the dry, pour it, get the wet, open it, scoop it, and set it in place! But he can't do any of that. He'd starve, not a happy thought.

It makes me feel very able, though. There I am ... lord of thought and deeds ... able to open cat food and serve it. I not only can think through the process, what it'd take to accomplish it, I'm also able perfectly to follow through on my intentions and get the job done. It's strictly 1-2-3, but I treasure my great ability to do things 1-2-3. As smart as the cat is, he can't do this.

Of course there's things the cat can do that I can't. But in this particular blog post I just want to mention the things I can do that he can't.

Pets To Adopt

I went to Pet Smart yesterday and made the serious mistake of looking at the cats that have been left behind. How sad. Each one said something about how their owner had to give them up.

Oh, I can't see that, but I can't adopt any cats. I have two cats and there's no way we want any others disturbing their routine. But it makes me sad to see, and to contemplate what these owners (and cats) had to go through when they needed to give them up. It must have been terrible.

I don't want to look at them. I don't want to get their hopes up. I feel sorry for them, because I know a cat likes to have a home and not to be in a glass cage in a pet store. They want to be sleeping on a bed, stretched on a couch, curled in a chair.

Not Wanting To Breathe

I examined my dog's nose to see if dogs had nostrils or just a smooth, uninterrupted surface. It turns out she does have nostrils.

I told my dog I wouldn't want to be breathing through a dog's nose. I would be polluted by its body.

The cat also has nostrils. I told the cat I wouldn't want to be breathing through a cat's nose. I would also be polluted by its body.

They told me, 'We wouldn't want to breathe through your nose either.' I halfway expected that.

I told them, 'Hey, my air's OK.'

'Ditto,' they said.