Cat Door

In the midst of baking and cooking and doing what we do on the weekends housework, work from home and home projects (you should see the list). The bf finally tackled a project we have been wanting to get to for some time. A cat door from the hallway to the spare room (we use as a giant walk in closet) for the cats to come and go and not be harassed by the resident chupacabra.

Step one...cut hole in wall. I love being a homeowner for this reason. I can cut a hole in the wall, and no one can stop me.

Cutting and fitting the the trim around the outside of said cat door.

Cutting and fitting the inside trim.

From the other side.

It turned out great. The cats love it...and sometimes the my adorable chupacabra lets them use it.

If you were expecting measurements and angles for a how to tutorial on the cat door...sorry but around here I don't mess with the bf power tools (unless its used to carve a jack o lantern)and he doesn't mess with my immersion blender.

The Next Two Weeks

The next two weeks are going to be a blur of activity...Oye! The bf is leaving town this coming Saturday for a week long cycling adventure so that will give me double duty with Katsu...who will be getting neutered on the Friday before the bf leaves town. I am taking two days off to stay home with puppy while he is recovering (thanx K.B.)and to make sure he is comfortable and stays quiet.

Yesterday I spent time trying to clean up my back yard and front yard...I am not a fan of gardening and if I had my way I would put in a giant zen garden with large rocks to rake around. It would probably help my stress and anxiety way more than yanking weeds and trimming hedges. Anyway I did manage to make a dent in some things and feel better about getting it done.

I did manage to turn out some delicious French toast this weekend. I made it from challah bread that I had picked up on my way home from work on Friday. I have to say I am a breakfast girl I love all of it pancakes, French toast, bacon...you name it if it is breakfast food I will eat it. It doesn't have to be complicated food just good and comforting.

I like being able to cut my own bread for French toast. Store bought pre-sliced bread is too whimmpy to hold up to the egg wash 9 times out of 10, and the flavor is never quite right. I have used French Bread, English muffin bread (super good) and brioche. All fantastic. That with some hand cut bacon and you have a winner every time.

Cooking will begin again I promise. The heat wave is over and fall is right around the corner...no seriously I saw her while walking the dog this morning. Have a great Labor Day everyone.

Raising Katsu

Katsu will be 16 weeks old this week. He is growing so fast it constantly amazes me. I knew from the moment I held him 9 weeks ago that I was in trouble that this amazing puppy would steal my heart, and he has done exactly that...along with my slippers, couple pairs of socks and a few dish towels.

He so far has not spent one entire night sleeping in his kennel, and I know somewhere Caesar Millan is cringing at the mere thought of sharing his bed with one of his loyal canines, but you will find Katsu sleeping between the bf and I somewhere near the foot of the bed. Is this a permanent sleeping arrangement you may ask? I don't know the bf may have to move to the couch when Katsu gets bigger ( I am joking ). We are in deep and are actually considering knocking out a wall so we can create a larger bedroom so we can get a larger bed to accommodate Katsu and the two kitties. I will say this that he NEVER had an accident in bed, and we only went through a couple of weeks of having to take him out in the middle of the night to go potty, but since then he has slept through the night every night. Katsu does kennel during the day when we are both at work and does amazing, but at night he wants to be with his pack.

So far Katsu has done only minimal damage to items around the house with his razor sharp puppy teeth. He has slightly chewed on a couple pairs of shoes...the shoes are still wearable. The power cord to my laptop may or may not still work and Katsu is probably more effective at shredding paper than my paper shredder...two copies were made of last weeks shopping list.

We have been taking Katsu on walks three times daily when the weather permits (he doesn't like the heat or rain, yeah summer in the Rose City) and I/we have decided a halti lead is in his future. He pulls constantly it seems like and we need to gain some control. Not to mention I feel a bit like my dogs posse when I walk him. We are stalked...err I mean stopped constantly and asked about him it goes something like this "Oh my god he is so cute" "What kind of puppy is he" "Where does he come from" "Can I pet him" It happens at least 5 times or more turning a 30 min walk into a 1 1/2 hour walk. I have had people follow along withe me to get coffee, stalk me in their suvs and point and stare. I know Katsu loves all the attention and it is a great tool to socialize him, but some days what I want to say back to these people "yeah super cute until it is four in the morning and he is trying to chew your earlobe from your head because he has decided that it is time to get up." Honestly the earlobe thing doesn't hurt that much, and just look at that face!

Katsu has gotten all leggy and lost all that downy soft puppy fur, but the coat that has come in is spectacular with all its golden stripes. I found the best dog shampoo for him and I really love it. I loved it so much I sent and email with a couple of photos of Katsu...well the dog shampoo place loved him so much they are going to put his photo on bottles of their dog shampoo and send me a free bottle. My dog is a model. Maybe I should send his photo to the dog food company and tell them how much he loves their kibble...a free bag of food would be nice considering it costs roughly 2.00 per pound.

I don't think all the attention has gone to his little puppy head. I am pretty sure somewhere under that exotic coat lies a normal dog that will emerge someday from the crazy puppy he is today...I hope so...lol. Honestly I would be happy if he learned down, come, quit trying to eat your sister and leave the white kitty alone...oh and stop pulling on the leash...after that he can do whatever he wants.

We have taken him on the Max and into different neighborhoods, so far he has done really well in all situations and will all dogs and people. Smaller fast moving children spook him, but hey they spook me to.

He is challenging, stubborn, bullheaded, lovable, adorable, toothy, and mine and I sure love him bunches.

A Dog's Tale

I guess I want to let people know that we did not set out adopt a rare and exotic canine. What we wanted and tried to do was adopt a dog from a shelter or adopt from one of the many agencies in my area, but things seldom work out like one wants.

First, I want to give you a little back history. When the bf and I had to put our beloved Koda to sleep a year ago Mar. 20th it about killed us. He was only six and we were expecting at least another ten good years. Things had finally sort of settled. We had one dog and one cat and they adored each other. Life was good. Koda got sick and then sicker and it seemed like the,vet who wasn't worth the paper her diploma was printed on, kept prescribing medications and blood tests and had not a clue as to what was going on. We finally got a vet who cared. Sadly, it was too late. We took Koda into a specialist for an ultra sound we found out that same day his liver and kidneys were shutting down and the heart murmur we were initially told was minor was not. The next day we said our good byes with our hearts completely broken and way too many unanswered questions. We still to this day do not know what happened and why he got sick.

We listened to many people that told us we should adopt again and get another dog the sooner the better...We tried two months later. I spied a female rat terrier that needed to be re-homed due to her owner not being able to keep or take care of her. I got in touch with this woman and agreed to all her silly terms, home visits, and a veiled threat that if she in 90 days time did not like how we were taking care of her dog she would take her back. Now anyone who knows me that in the back of my mind I was thinking of filing a restraining order and making a call to the police if the woman so much as showed up on my property after I had the dog. I spoke more to the woman's sister than to the dog owner herself, and found out that not only was the woman mentally unhinged, but a hoarder with issues and way too many dogs. I was stupid for getting my hopes set so high and was not surprised but still deeply hurt when literally 2 hours before she was supposed to deliver the dog to my house she called left a message a bailed. When she called to string me a long, a little more I told her if she ever called my house, again I would turn her ass in the humane society for animal neglect. She did not call again.

Next time we tried to adopt was last summer. I went through an organization that I thought would work. She brought over an adorable little Chihuahua (stop laughing) mix named Luigi super sweet little escape artist wouldn't stop harassing our cat Pixel who weighs in somewhere between a normal house cat and a snow leopard and has zero tolerance for little dogs that don't know there place on the food chain. Pixel showed his dislike of this particular dog by pooping on the dogs bed...Luigi went back to his foster moms...he is still there. Next, the adoption place tried to steer us to a Rat Terrier that came from a bad puppy mill...sad, sick and unfortunately way too neurotic for me.

We tried to adopt a dog from the local humane society only to run across another neurotic dog that would not have made a good fit for our home at all. We tried other place combing the listings, looking. The one deal breaker was that the dog MUST LOVE CATS. We never found a match. We got a crazy half tortie half Tasmanian devil kitten named Willow and things fell into place and fit. We sort of stopped looking for dogs. I was still mourning Koda and could not walk through the park without bursting into tears. I dog sit Koda's bff Rottie named Lucy...she was/is a super sweetheart. I watch her every chance I get. She is my guardian angel with fur and fangs. I figured I was content…but then…

Last January early a.m. I spied an ad on craigslist from a woman who was looking for her lost dog. I looked at the ad. Saw the photo of a very unique looking dog that was definitely Asian, but did not put too much thought into it other than to look up the breed. A truly fascinating breed. A couple more days went by and I saw another ad same woman saying she had found her dog. I looked again and this time the photo showed the dog with another half dozen of the same breed....so I emailed her and asked if she bred them? Did not really expect to hear back, figuring I had just earned the title of crazy craigs list stalker, but then about a week later I had an email telling me that no actually she didn't breed anymore, but...(always a but) her husband on New Years made a mistake and put a receptive female in with their intact male. Did not realize his mistake until it was too late. She also would be willing to let us adopt one of her young adults but they were not good with cats. I declined the offer of a adult dog because of the kitties, but told her I would be interested in a puppy if there was going to be a litter. Did the math figured the first week of March. We kept in contact and I got photos when the beautiful Akari gave birth to 9 awesome little black tigers (8 boys 1 girl) on March 4th. Kim has kept in touch with me and sent me photos weekly or more. Last night she brought over my favorite 4 and let me choose one for my very own. Kim said it was destined to be this little Kai was to be mine. The bf and I are exhausted but happy. Katsu is a handsome little boy and very smart.

Today we start a new adventure with a puppy. The bf has never raised a puppy and it has been a very long time since I have. We kick off the weekend with the first trip to the vet for his first round of shots. I predict a long night ahead of us. Please do not misunderstand me shelters and adoption agencies work great for a lot of people and I support them 100%, but sometimes it just doesn't work out and that is o.k. Thanks for listening.