My dog. My cat. Beasties.

This Lens Supports the ASPCA

This lens supports the ASPCA in their fight against animal cruelty. Want to help?

Build a lens to support the ASPCA or visit the ASPCA home page for more information on how to pitch in.

The Best of Beasties

everything from pudge to tongues

Two pets have I: a dog named Cricket and a cat named Izzy. They are beasties. They are weird. Izzy has a pudge and enjoys belly rubs. If she fwumps, you give her rubs. Life is that simple. Cricket is a fan of the rubs, too, but her favourite activity is trying to open the closet door and reach her food bag. Cricket is eight years old on January 27th, 2007, and Izzy is seven around the same date. (It's hard to know for sure with shelter animals.) Izzy does not like touching skin. Cricket does not like waiting for her food.

My Cricket Beastie

This is my eldest child.

Cricket is just a goof. She's an English Setter mix, but no one knows what she's mixed with. It is a mystery. She instinctively points and her sniffer is her strongest sense organ. She likes being chased. She has a taste for metal. Yes, metal. One of Cricket's favourite things to do is lick her pliers. She has her own pair of pliers that have pretty much rusted shut, and she spends a good part of each evening on the futon licking the pliers. She's not normal, but she's always happy. Read her story below.

My Izzy Beastie

This is my youngest child.

Izzy is a stumpy Manx, meaning that she has a very short tail. Her tail twitches when she gets excited. I can't imagine how expressive a full tail would be. Izzy was not interested in receiving attention when I first brought her home. She was simply busy being a curious cat, and though I had a special area for her to use as a safe place while she got used to my apartment, she wanted to explore the whole place right away. She reminds me when it is bedtime and time to wake up. She is a kneady and needy kitty. Read her story below.

Top 5 Things You Should Know About My Pets...

Food is god.
Tongues are too large to fit in one mouth.
Naptime is essential.
Visitors must be approved (by giving rubs to the pets).
A good loud MREH or whine will always garner attention.

The Story of a Cricket

Cricket was small once...

Once upon a time there was a teensy little runt of a pup named Cricket.

Very small, in fact...

Cricket liked to be close to anyone who was nearby.

Small enough to fit in a lap...

But admittedly, she was closest to her mom. Her mom's lap was a safe place.

But she began to grow...

The runt, however, could not stay a runt. She was cared for, grew, and exercised like a nut.

And grow some more...

That pup grew to fill the space she was given. And that was plenty of space.

And then she was big.

Cricket grew into a dog, though she prefers to be called a puppy. She can be very well behaved, even when wearing an annoying birthday hat.

And that nose was pretty big, too.

Cricket's sniffer can't help but get close to the camera. That's what sniffers are for.

The Story of an Izzy

She, too, was a runt...

Izzy started out as a skinny minny from the Humane Society.

But gained a little weight...

Izzy likes to help put away groceries. She also likes to sit on tissues that the dog has pulled out.

And oh my gained weight quickly...

Izzy grew a very nice tum.

But was not always happy...

Izzy did not like her party hat, though.

Even so...

Still, life is pretty good for an Izzycat.

And life SHOULD be good...

Perhaps Izzy is a little spoiled. She has her own sleeping bag.

Because animals deserve no less than the best.

Izzy is a very comfortable cat. Sometimes she holds her legs in a beautiful pike position. This is Izzy twisting out of pike position because she'd been holding her legs so close to her nose that she couldn't breathe. Snoring Izzies have to be reminded that breathing is just as important as eating.

Dog and Cat are Friends

It's true.

Cricket and Izzy are pals. Sometimes one will get rowdy and scare the other off, or make her a little wary, but they have a good grasp of one another's weirdness. Izzy knows that her Cricket is most calm or still while eating, so that's when Izzy approaches Cricket to clean her ears. Cricket always runs to her Izzy when Izzy enters the room. Izzy gets a good sniff from Cricket and Cricket wags her tail. But then there is the matter of taking Izzy to the vet. This is something that Cricket does not like AT ALL. Cricket wants her Izzy home and safe and within nose-touching distance. An Izzy in a crate is cause for much concern on Cricket's part. She will howl and get intense, questioning eyes. I have to be as calm as possible at that point, because Izzy is never happy to be in her carrier and Cricket is horrified that her Izzy is leaving. If I were to get worked up, they would be even crazier. Which, actually, isn't always possible. I try to show them that it's okay for them to be separated for a little while. Still, they are siblings and they are animals; they want to have the option of being near each other. I like the fact that they can get along so well. Cricket is a wild pup at times, and it takes a mellow cat like Izzy to deal with her. They really are perfect for one another.

Things That Scare My Dog

hats of any kind
snowmen
dogs
people who aren't white (this is very embarrassing)
large backpacks
super soakers
strangers (this can be handy)
plastic bags and trash blowing across the sidewalk
manhole covers
nighttime arriving without food being added to the bowl
a wild Izzycat
the vacuum
being without Izzy

Things That Scare My Cat

the unlikely event of life without belly rubs and food

Cricket Tricks

Did I mention that Cricket is a goof? And wild? It's true. But she can also be very, very sneaky. When Cricket was a pup, she wanted my mom's piece of peanut butter toast. My mom, however, wanted the toast for herself. So Cricket looked around, then lunged for a dishtowel hanging partway off the kitchen counter, making sure my mom saw. Of course my mom saw. She jumped up, too, and ran to save the dishtowel...

Leaving the peanut butter toast exposed on the table.

Cricket RACED to the table and ate the toast in one bite. She's had a taste for peanut butter ever since.

Cricket may know how to sit, wait, lie down, ask nicely, and pee on command, but she also has enough goof in her to make people wonder if she's thinking at all. For instance, there was the time that she shoved her head inside of an oatmeal canister so far that it got stuck. Naturally the thing to do at that point was run around excitedly and bump into things.

Cricket's first trick was when she was still a wee little pup. I had just gotten her and we'd set aside an area in a room to be the dog zone. Two sides of the dog zone were actual walls. One side was wooden crates that wouldn't let her get through. And one side was made of a giant sheet of Styrofoam, almost as tall as the walls themselves. Then, there was the small side that was just cardboard boxes taped together. It was a safe enclosure with toys, water, tunnels to crawl through and warm carpet to lie on. I put my puppy in the zone and stayed with her for a while, but I wanted to teach her that I wouldn't always be right there. So I left. As soon as I had gone, I heard scraping and whining and scratching and general commotion. And then there was a puppy at my feet. Examining the Styrofoam wall revealed that she had climbed up the wall, jumped over the cardboard boxes, and run after me with a fury. She just wasn't ready to be left alone. After a trick like that, I wasn't ready to leave her alone, either. I wanted to see what else she could do.

Izzy Tricks

Izzy tricks are not tricks in the performance tricks sense. Izzy tricks are how she tricks people into doing what she wants. She is a cat, after all. Her first trick is quite basic. She flops down in your path, wherever you are, and exposes her belly. This means "Rubs. Now." So you rub her belly. Then there's the wake up call. This involves her batting at the face (and at nose rings in particular) until you look at her. When you look at her, she smiles and purrs and lets out a "MREH." Even acknowledging Izzies makes them happy. Sometimes, though, it makes them so happy that they want to sit on your face. And they do. And then they curl up on your face. And then you have an allergic reaction, but you don't remove the Izzy from the bed. You get up, change the sheets or the pillowcase to something with less cat hair (without disturbing the Izzy; she might help change sheets--she likes that) and you go back to sleep. Usually the batting at the face continues. If you are trained enough to wake up at the batting and crawl out of bed, an Izzy will flop down in your path. This, too, means "Rubs. Now." So again, you rub her belly.

Izzies have a tendency to demand attention. (Like I said, they are cats.) If you are sitting at the computer, an Izzy will want to sit in your lap. However, Izzies CANNOT stand lying on skin. If an Izzy wants to lie in your lap but you are not wearing pants, she will yell at you. Loudly. MREH. She may even get desperate enough--wait, she'll always be desperate enough--to jump onto your shoulders, crawl halfway down your chest, stare at your naked lap, give a hearty and disproving MREH, then turn around and claw her way back up to your shoulder, over which she will drape herself. And you must hold her properly, or she will continue to yell at you.

Izzy is not a shy creature. If there are visitors, she comes running. And flops in their path. And gives a good MREH. This, you may have gathered by now, means "Rubs. Now." And visitors must rub her belly to be approved and allowed into the house. She has everyone trained.

Tips for Caring for Shelter Animals

What Everyone Should Know

Be patient in everything you do.
Be firm, but never yell.
Learn as much about your pet's background as possible.
Think of pet adoption as a lifelong commitment.
Take your pet for annual check-ups at a good veterinary clinic or animal hospital.
SPAY OR NEUTER YOUR PETS.
Ask your vet questions. You may think you have all the answers, but you probably don't.
Pet proof your home.
Love your pet. He or she may be scared at first, so don't overwhelm your pet. But a little love makes a big difference in the long run.

Loved Animal Books

Loved Animal Books - Olivia

There are actually too many Olivia books to list them all.

Izzycat on YouTube

There are never enough belly rubs; she keeps coming back.

cat needs belly rubs

Izzy the cat needs her belly rubs.

Runtime: 1:17
191 views
0 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Beasties on YouTube

Not my own beasties. A friend's.

Bathtub Fun #1

Freyja and Nia play with a dripping faucet.

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

Runtime: 4:31
119 views
0 Comments:

powered by YouTube

Links That Have Something To Do With Beasties Of Various Kinds

Natalie Dee: Often features animals. Always features humour. Sometimes her dogs Charles and Chester are involved.
Save Mr. Peeps: Mr. Peeps is a stuffed Peep who was kidnapped. These are his adventures.
Kuanboda's Beasties on Webshots: More pictures of my beasties, plus some others.
Abbie The Cat Has A Posse: This is Abbie the cat's blog. He hasn't written much since Martha, the other cat, left. She was sick and didn't tell anyone until it was too late. But you will feel better if you sing the song... Now is time for all good cats to sleep.
Cat Town: Hurr Hurr Hurr

Leave me comments!

satoashley

Cricket and Izzy are so cute! I loved their stories and liked very much how you told them with pictures. Very sweet lens.
Hugs, Satoashley

Posted April 11, 2007

Share your knowledge. Make a difference.