Boxer's 20th Birthday!

Three months old, and already ruler of the land.

Today Boxer turns 20 years old.  Although we don't know his exact birthdate, our vets at the time gave us this date counting back from the time we got him.  He was 7 weeks old when we brought him home.  I had just lost my heart cat, Sparky, 22 days before, saw an ad in the paper for kittens and found out they had a black and white male.  I always loved black and white animals.  It seemed like fate.  That is until he pooped in my lap on the way home and I burst into tears.  It was so soon after losing Sparky and I don't know what I was thinking...

Mr. Innocent!

I thought all cats were like Sparky, cool, calm and collective.  Boxer was the exact opposite, a total wild child.  As he grew older, he became dominant, pushy, obnoxious and an all around jerk.  Pretty much what he still is today, although he has soften a bit and has become more loveable.

Boxer and Princess Leia in a rare snuggle

  

Boxer has survived my late cat, Claw.  Our first dog Alex, the 24 Paws of Love, ten puppies and now resides with Chevy and his Siamese girlfriend, Princess Leia.  He has been through a lot in his 20 years.  We have had Boxer almost as many years as we have been married.    

The attitude comes clear with this one.

Boxer was diagnosed with cancer one year and ten months ago.  He was given 3 months to live at the time of diagnosis.  That stubborn boy isn't going down without a fight.  

If you have read anything about my relationship with Boxer, you know it is built on a lot of love and aggravation.  I struggled for a long time that Boxer wasn't Sparky.  Boxer is one of the main reasons I would never get another animal so soon after the death of one. Lesson learned.

It has been a long 20 years with Boxer, with all the good, bad and ugly.  He is definitely a one of a kind cat who has broken the record of the oldest animal we've had so far.  

Happy 20th Birthday Boxer!

 

A Love Story in the Making: Blaze and Boxer the cat

On YouTube

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Blaze's Side of the Story

Blaze here:

So she leaves me to go to visit those cats without even bothering to ask if I want to play with them too.  The ones I'd love to chase in the yard and hold in my teeth!  But I just want to play with them Mommy!

But what Mommy doesn't know is that I'm peeking under the door and I can hear and see the black and white one going crazy in the middle of the floor after a feather that jingles.  I wanna play too!!  So I start banging on the door and whining a little to get Mommy's attention.  It works!  She tells me "NO"  Doesn't she know what fun the cats and I would have together if she would just let me in???

So I try the silent approach.  Stalk mode.  Waiting.  Watching and waiting.  Then here it comes, my big chance...the door cracks open, I dash in and grab the feathery toy and dash back out.

  Gotcha Mom!

Once Mommy's color came back to her face, she laughed and laughed.  No, I didn't want the cats Mommy...didn't she know I was going crazy for that feathery bell?   And since she wasn't going to let me in, then I had to grab it for myself!  Humph!

And what did Boxer have to say about that crazy cat dog?   Go HERE to find out!  

We've gone Catty!!

We thought we'd take a rest from blogging today and feature the cat's blog.  Now normally we wouldn't do this but once you read it you'll understand why.

Here's a little recap to catch you up:

Boxer and Princess Leia have appointed Mom to be their apprentice in an effort for her to tap into her inner catness and to convince her that cats are the true "top dogs" of the house.  Every plan so far that Boxer has come up with has been foiled.  But you have to give the credit to Boxer for his determination and sheer will power.  I don't think Mom will ever become the avid cat lover as she is with us, but that isn't stopping Boxer.

So stop over to 36 Claws of Attitude and have a good chuckle as Boxer tries once again to prove his higher rank among us in Lesson 2-Out in the Wild.  

Get Down Boxer!

A certain cat with a reputation of believing that cats are at  the top of hierarchy of the 24 Paws of Love or Muttville as he calls it, is caught loving all over Silver.  (Silver's always been kind of mama to him. bol!)

(Watch on YouTube)

See more of Boxer at:  36 Claws of Attitude

Krazy kitty vs. Silly dogs

In the war of cats vs. dogs, it is all about strategy, planning, and a dumb move made by the cat.  Little did Princess Leia know what she thought was a covert move dashing under the bed, became an opportunity for Fiona and Brut to practice their plot to dominate the world.  

And for all of you cat lovers out there, just look away.  

(editor's note:  no animals were harmed in making of this film,  just for some hurt pride:)
You'd think cornering the cat happens all the time around here, but surprisingly it is quite rare, which is why I couldn't resist to tape it.  :)

Monday Memories-Best Buds

Welcome to Monday Memories...our little trip down memory lane. 

Today's memory brought to you by:  Boxer (kitty) and Silver (dog)

(Long before the days of Brut, puppies and the 24 Paws of Love)

Silver and Boxer were best of friends

They both loved to cuddle together

snuggling close

Sometimes a little too close  :)

But isn't that what friends are for??

Something Wagging Challenge-Boxer

I could write out a long in depth post about what lead to taking on this challenge with my competitor in question, but simply put; I've had resentments towards Boxer because he isn't my former cat, Sparky and Boxer has resentments, well, because he is a cat!

THIS IS NOT A 'NORMAL' CAT
I was completely disillusioned by Sparky and two previous cats (all whom have passed on) who were mellow, affectionate, and cool as cucumbers and I thought all cats were that way.  Then I got Boxer and suddenly I was dealing with this wild, obnoxious cat who demanded my attention and didn't care how he got it.  And while I would like to blame his behavior on the dogs, he has always been this way.  More dogs just gives him more reasons to be ruthless.

Just let her try to sit down!!

MY LAP WAS OUR BATTLEGROUND
Every night the war would begin with this 16 pound cat, who according to the vet was not overweight, where we would have our battle of wills.  He would stand on my lap, I mean just stand there on my tired-end-of-the-day-legs like dead weight.    Then he would slowly turn around, doing his 'claw dance,' butt in my face all the while jerking and knocking me with head butts that had the force of a miniature ram.  I in turn would hide my arms behind my back, or try to get him to lay down, until my sensitive nerves couldn't take it anymore and I would push him off my lap.  Or I would try to pet him, hoping to calm him and it would only rile him up more.  I almost dreaded our nightly visit and these battles only fueled my angry feelings towards him more.

SPARKY NEVER ACTED LIKE THIS
And there was my struggle.  I'd missed my heart cat so much, I just couldn't accept that Boxer was nothing like him.  I hadn't even realized that I'd had built up these resentments towards Boxer because he wasn't Sparky.  A few months ago I became aware of how much these thoughts and feelings were hurting our relationship and that I needed to change the course we were taking. 

Look deep inside...or else

THE HEALING PROCESS BEGAN
I began by letting go of Sparky and focusing on Boxer.  I started practicing more patience and kindness with Boxer, but we were still struggling with his demands for affection. So when Pamela's Challenge came along, I seized the opportunity to improve our lap time by using simple "ignore and reward" technique.  When he was quiet on my lap and/or being gentle, I would pet him.  When he got too pushy, I hid my hands.  It was simple. And it worked.  Not only did our lap time improve, but our over all relationship took a dramatic turn. We are not having those large uproars on my lap every night.  Now, we are enjoying each others company and I am beginning to see Boxer for more of who he is, rather than who he is not.

I am sure I am not alone when grieving for another animal to misplace those hopes onto a new one.  Boxer was never going to be Sparky and I still missed Sparky more because of it.  Their personalities are almost bipolar to each other and it has been difficult letting go of that, not to mention that these differences created a situation with a type of cat, I'd never dealt with before.  It was frustrating because I have discovered I don't know cats like I do dogs and I didn't know what to do.

Pamela's challenge gave me a way to acknowledge what I started with Boxer and our healing process and helped me to focus on one aspect of our relationship-the time on my lap.  If I accomplish nothing else with Boxer except this, I have conquered everything.  Our evenings together are almost like heaven now and I'm finding myself falling in love with that little booger all over again.      

   

Yep!  I got her back.

I mean seriously, who can resist all this mancat savvy!!

A special thanks to Pamela and her Something Wagging Challenge that gave Boxer and I what we had been missing.  Our relationship.

 It's a DOUBLE BLOG HOP!!  JOIN US!!



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And the Saturday Blog Hop!!  Hosted by Life with Dogs, The Two Cavaliers and Confessions of the Plume.

The Obnoxious Cat Challenge

 Do I look worried?

An obnoxious, demanding cat.  

(She ain't seen nothing yet!)

Pamela's Challenge.
(Yeah, right.  We know who the boss is.)

Who's going to win?
(Like you have to ask?  Don't you know who I am?)

  

Watch for our post between Jan. 31-Feb 7 to find out. 

Find out more about the challenge HERE and join us!

Monday Memories-Crazy Christmas Cat

Monday Memories-our weekly trip down memory lane...

 Since it is Christmas and the season for giving...(blah! blah! blah!)

 We were held at claw-point and ransacked of our treats decided to share our Monday Memories with those other bastards animals of the house.

Here's Princess Leia at 5 months old getting crazy with the Christmas paper.

Our gift to our readers, in exchange for our lives from the 24 Paws of Love Dog Blog.

(just in case anyone forgets, this is a DOG blog!!)

Doesn't she look like a pinball machine???  BOL!

Monday Memories-Boxer

Three weeks after burying Sparky, I did my habitual check of the pet section of the classifieds.  Free kittens.  My heart was pounding and I began to shake a little. The house seemed so empty without my favorite cat and it couldn't hurt just to call...he had two kittens, one of them was a black and white male.  Just what I had always wanted.  The guy tried to give a further description but I was shaking so bad, I didn't a word of what he said, except to get directions.  After I hung up, I remember feeling the guilt of betrayal.  What the heck was I doing?  How could I even think of another cat when Sparky was still so fresh on my mind?

Something kept pressing me forward.  When I saw the little kitten, I was memorized.  I was in a total state of shock.  This little wild guy was the cat I'd always dreamed of having.  Solid black, with white paws, belly and face.  He was so precious.  He looked like Sparky, but he was all his own.  I couldn't believe any of this was happening.  He was like a dream come true.

We headed into town to pick up some extra's for this little bundle of joy, when while I was holding him, he pooped in my lap.  While a natural reaction, I began sobbing, as my husband pulled over.  Maybe this isn't such a good idea. I said through my tears.  I took his accident as a sign that this was all wrong.   The enormity of taking this little guy home became suddenly overwhelming.  I didn't know if I was ready for caring for this kitten, when I was still so heavily grieving my heart cat.  How could this feel so right and so wrong all at the same time?  But a little voice inside of me kept saying, he was the one for me.

We called him Boxer for his white paws and his boxing action.  Boxer was born outside, wasn't litter trained or weaned and was like a wild tom cat.  He was one of those crazy kittens that climbed up the screens, curtains and anything else he could reach.  He was the first cat I didn't have de-clawed and he was just plain wild.  He didn't like to held, never sat on my lap and seem to never tire of tearing all around the house or playing with toys for hours upon end.  He had no problem livening our household right up.

An amazing thing happened as I watched this little bundle of wild abandon, little pieces of my heart began to heal.  Since Sparky was over year old when I got him, watching Boxer was like watching Sparky as a kitten.  Sometimes I would be laughing out loud and other times I was in tears as I grieved and rejoiced in Boxer's spunk and personality.  Nothing like the mellow mood of Sparky, yet so many times, I saw that Sparky look in Boxer's eyes.

Did Boxer replace Sparky?  Never.  But he gave me something to hold on to so I didn't fall through that gaping hole in my heart and gave me just what I needed to heal and love again.   

            And now I can't sit down without Boxer plopping on my lap.          

Monday Memories- Pyscho Claw

 Who you calling psycho??

 I had this psycho crazy cat named Claw, who was a grey tabby/Siamese.  She was MY cat and never showed affection towards any males in my life.  Claw always ran and hid when any were around.  I met this guy, who claimed to be an all around good guy, (which was a sure red flag), who came over to my apartment and here comes Claw jumping right into his lap.  She was friendly and affectionate and was loving all over him.  This was the first time she had ever shown a male any special attention and I immediately started thinking this guy must be the one.  He had to be.  Why else would she be loving all over this guy?

Well needless to say this "good" guy had a bad past that I didn't know about and the relationship ended.  I was confused for some time why Claw had acted the way she had with this guy.  It made little sense until I met my husband-to-be and Claw was back to her psychotic self.  She made it very clear that she wanted nothing to do with him.

Is he still here?

It didn't take long for my husband and I to know that we were meant for each other and we got married. 

It was sometime later that we realized that Claw's whacked out attitude over the bad guy was actually an indication that she was acting completely out of character and that somehow I was suppose to pick up on that clue.  It also explains why she went full tilt Claw on my husband, which meant, she knew my husband was the real deal and there was no way that Claw was giving him any special treatment! 

Daddy's Monday Memories-Who Says a Cat Can't Teach a Dog New Tricks?

I'll never forget the day I discovered that cats can teach dogs new tricks.

A long time ago I once had a kitten, who was about two months old who we'll call "Kitty," because I can't remember her name.  After about six months, I saw a puppy who I just had to have.  I really can't say for sure what kind of dog she was, I think she might have been a white lab.  When I first saw her, I looked into her eyes and she was telling me, "take me home, take me home."  Well, I wanted to get a playmate for Kitty, because I hated leaving her home all alone when I went to work.  So when "Melanie" gave me that look, that was the icing on the cake.

I took her home and didn't know how Kitty would react.  Well they got along just fine.  After a few days it was like they were Siamese twins.  After about a week or two went by I began to notice something, the bed was sprinkled with kitty litter.  The litter box was in my bedroom, at the foot of my queen sized mattress that I had on the floor yet I never had kitty litter on my bed before.  Kitty had always used the box with no problems.  Then as time went on I began to notice the bed had more and more litter on the sheets.  I kept thinking, What the heck is going on with that Kitty?  

Well, one night I got in late and I took Melanie out for our walk to do her business and the three of us went to bed.  The next morning I decided to sleep in, something I rarely do, but it was Sunday and had been a long week.  The next thing I knew I was being woken up by a raining hail of kitty litter in my face!  I tried dodging the spraying pellets while I staggered to sit up to see what that crazy cat was doing.  As my eyes began to focus, I was shocked.  There in the middle of the litter box was Melanie in serious concentration as she flung the litter left and right covering up her recent business.  I tilted my head, with a smirk and asked, "What are you doing?"  She stopped dead in her tracks.   I could barely contain myself before I busted out laughing. She'd been caught! I didn't want her to think she was in trouble, so I praised her and Melanie's startled look soften as she bound out of the box and on the bed to cover me with sweet puppy kisses and a trail of kitty litter.

It was the funniest thing I'd ever seen in my life and still cracks me up to this day.  I'll tell you one thing, cats ain't got nothing on a puppy in the litter box!!  The speed and thrust in those paws would put a cat to shame!!  There was nothing cuter than Melanie in that litter box.  She was one smart puppy taking care of business just like the cat taught her to.  Now I'd seen it all.  :)   



 

Monday Memories-Sparky

 My absolute favorite picture that sums up everything about Sparky

While I am an avid dog lover, my presence has been graced with some the most awesome felines created on this planet.  Today is all about the coolest cat that ever lived named Sparky.

Sparky was smooth and mellow like cool jazz.  He would've been the one with the stand-up bass, head hanging low, thumping to every groove in his soul.  He had that down and dirty style that shone with a heart of gold.  Luscious black fur that was almost sinful to run your fingers through and a white triangle on his chest for an added stamp of class.  No, no, no, there was no cat like Sparky.

I was honored with this awesome cat when he was just over a year old. My roommate at the time brought him home and I still remember those yellow owl-like eyes as he took me in, slowly twitching his tail while he hung out on the window sill.  He was intriguing and beautiful, I could barely take my eyes off of him.  There was something to this cat named Sparky.

 I don't know that I could ever put into words who he really was and the intensity of knowing him.  Cats are so much more mysterious than dogs, but his mystery resonated deep in my soul.  I was unaware of how deep our bond was until he was diagnosed with cancer at 14 years old and would live another full year.  A week before his passing he rebounded, bouncing around like a kitten and I began to believed he was OK.  We had a scheduled work trip that weekend and I left Sparky in the hands of our vet.  Looking back, I think deep in my heart I already knew.  I barely said good-bye to him when we left, I just walked away.  When the vet called the next day, I knew.  His body was shutting down. It took 250 miles of separation to let Sparky go, it was that painful to bear.  God only knows I would have never given him up on my own and that it would take a higher intervention to say good bye to the coolest, most awesome cat in the world. 

The vet froze the body so when we returned we could bury him.  We took prints of his paws in plaster and laid him to rest.  When we moved I was torn, I couldn't bear the thought of "leaving" him, and actually dug up some of his bones to transfer them to our current home.  He was my first pet on my own and I have never met another cat like him.

Yeah, there's was something about that cat named Sparky.    

Two Way Street

Don't you just love when your dog senses your needs without you asking for them to be met.  Those times they know before you do and are by your side at that precise moment only for you to realize they were just what you needed right then.  Those times when they seem to understand more than you can comprehend of how you are feeling and are there for comfort.  Aren't those some of the most precious times?

What about when it happens the other way around?

There are always times I don't feel I measure up to being a dog mom.  I have my faults and flaws just like anyone else and for so many years, all I ever saw was what dogs (and other animals) have given me.  When I realized through the death of one of my cats that I was giving to them as well.  They may be simple things, they may be huge, but absorbing their need for me is an on going awakening.  I'm talking about more than food and water, I'm talking that they need me to help them through life as much as I need them and what an amazing journey this two way street is between us.  I have always known that animals have helped me survive in so many different ways, but what I am still learning is how they help me survive not just because of my need for them, but of their need for me.  That is powerful.

I have been through some tough times in my life and have always known animals were there for me but what I didn't realize was I was there for them too.  While I will constantly be amazed by the bond, communication and connection that exist, knowing that I mean something more to them than a meal ticket gives my life a value I am only beginning to comprehend.  This value has given me an equality that I do not find anywhere else and I hold to preciously when the storms come.

Monday Memories-Misty

I have always been an avid dog lover.  I don't what it is about dogs, but I just seem to connect with them.  When I was 13 years old we got our first cat, Misty.  It was a whole new learning experience.  She was a short hair with a solid grey coat and golden eyes.  She was calm, gentle and very loving.  Though there was something always mischievous about her.  It was that catty way she had about her and I fell in love with it instantly.  She always slept on my bed at night, where we would have great conversations and play fetch with a crumbled paper ball.  I would throw it from my bed and I taught her how to bring it back to me.  I always thought that was the coolest thing she did.  It was our game.

When no one was home I would throw a paper ball and watch her do flips to catch it.  We would play a sort of hide-n-go seek game/chase game all through the house.  I would stay down at her level and mimic her moves.  Each of us trying to spook the other.  We would become completely entranced with each other as we found a level at which we understood each other.  This was my first experience at bonding with an animal at their level.  It taught me how to relate with them from their viewpoint, not mention the emotional and spiritual level that sparkled between us.  Something I have never forgotten and still use to this day.

I never got to see Misty in her later years, childhood abuse kept me from going back home to visit.  My first question to my sister was always about Misty.  I missed her so.  I never knew when she died and it always broke my heart that I couldn't go back to see her one last time. I know she understood this, probably more than I did, as animals always know when there is pain going on in home.  She was always that sliver of light that broke through the darkness and I will always be grateful for the blessings she gave me.  And while the tears flow for that beautiful hearted creature who shared her gift of love with me, I know a bond like ours doesn't die easy and she will always be in my heart forever.          

After Everything Has Gone to the Dogs...

There's Boxer!!

I'm a MAN CAT...

yes I am, yes I am, yes I am!!

Join us for the Saturday Pet Blog Hop

YOU KNOW YOU HAVE DOGS IF...

1.  You take duct tape to your pillow every night to remove dog hair.

2.  You have named your carpet because it's so furry.

3.  People ask where you got your unique "fur" coat.

4. You hear the vacuum cleaner screaming when come near it.

5.  Cleaning up the cat's hairball is like a vacation.