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Well, we begin 2015 with three cats- our oldest, the black-and-white longhair Lucky, our second oldest, the Bengal-patterned tabby Tyger, and our newest, with us since October, 2012, the Siamese-mix Zack. By the beginning of this year, we have taken Zack to Florida eight times, something not done with any other cats, because he travels so well. As I have done in past years, I'm going to put most of the pet pictures onto this page, regardless of when they were taken or whether or not they were in conjunction with some other event or trip.

January 1: Zack's Ninth Trip to Florida

As we have done a number of times before, we have brought Zack with us down here to Florida. Some of the pictures we took of him while we were here you will find on the regular album page for this Florida trip. Others I want to put here.

This trip was routine for Zack. He got to sleep in the car for a day and a half each way, and here in Florida he got to play in the condo, go out for some walks and, for three-quarters of the time, sleep. His two favorite places are on the third chair at our laptop table and on the table itself, stretched out between our laptops. Of course, it's winter here in Florida, so Zack sometimes does double-duty as a foot-warmer for Fred.

All the pictures we took this time were of him in these two spots, and there are clickable thumbnails below for the best of these:

We hope Zack enjoys these trips, even though he is away from his playmates. He certainly is good company for us.

January 17: How Can That Possibly Be Comfortable?

Today, just a few pictures of Lucky and Zack.

I am always amazed at some of the positions that our cats assume when they are sleeping, but Lucky's are by far the most unusual. This is one of his most common positions, stretched out in one of the study chairs with one back leg and one front extended across the arms of the chair. Sometimes, he even tucks his head into the corner. How this is comfortable is beyond me.

Here are clickable thumbnails for a couple more pictures taken of Lucky today, and one of Zack watching him from the other chair:

February 2: Dryer Time!

Another endearing behavior, particularly for Lucky and Tyger, is that if they see me carry my exercise stuff, still warm from the dryer, upstairs to the bedroom, they will curl up in/on it when I dump it on the bed.

When I did this today, there wasn't a cat in sight, but when I returned upstairs a few minutes later, Tyger and Lucky were curled up on the clothes and even Zack was on the bed. Fred thinks its the smells in the clothes, but I think it's the warmth. Fred, though, may be closer to the truth, as Lucky will curl up on them even when they aren't warm.

I thought the scene so interesting that I went and got my camera and took a bunch of pictures. In addition to the one at left, there were four others worth including here, and there are clickable thumbnails below for them:

February 23: Downtime

Sometimes, when Fred is reading me news stories from Inside Automotive or Google News, they tend to put me to sleep.

It appears that they have exactly the same effect on the cats.

March 1: The Cats at Home

It is a Sunday morning, and Fred and I are in the study. Whenever that is the case, likelier than not, all three of our cats are with us (and one or another of them is usually trying to get in my lap).

Usually, each cat has a favorite place where he likes to take up residence. Quite often, Tyger can be found stretched out beside my laptop, while Lucky stretches out in the extra chair beside me and Zack lays on the desk shelf. I got another view of the three cats that you can see here.

Meanwhile, Fred was also taking a few candid shots with his phone, and there are clickable thumbnails below for a few of these:

That's not to say that Tyger has exclusive use of the coveted "beside the laptop" spot, it kind of depends on who gets there first. Both Lucky and Zack occupy that space as well; apparently, if it were a seat on American Airlines, it would be one of their "preferred" seats and require an extra fee to reserve. Problem is, the occupant often impedes my use of the mouse.

But I can't deny that sometimes having a companion so nearby is endearing.

March 18: Zack in Florida

We took Zack to Florida for the tenth time this month (something of a milestone); it is always nice to have one of the cats with us when we are here.

He is not only fun to have around, but he present numerous opportunities for candid shots of his photogenic features. Fred got a nice closeup one morning- the picture you can see at left.

On another day, he took quite a few pictures of Zack, and there are clickable thumbnails for the best of these below:

April 11-18: Keeping Us Company

Not much going on with the cats lately, except for the not-so-unusual situation that they are all three right there in the study with us whenever we are both there. I am usually working on my laptop with Fred on the other computer a few feet away.

What are the cats doing while we're in here? Well, Tyger has become fixated on the tall plastic trash can on the closet, and we have to keep the door closed or he will turn it over. Zack might nuzzle and mark one of us if we are sitting at a computer, but if I take the chair behind Fred, oftentimes he will sit there with me. What about Lucky? Well, if he hasn't been in my lap to be brushed yet that day, that is likely on his agenda. Otherwise, he is in the chair beside me or stretched out on the desk.

It also seems as if all the cats like to take turns lying on the table with me. That's nice, but of course it's hard to get a lot done when half my mousepad's been co-opted.

May 8: And I Don't Even Use Snuggle Fabric Softener

One of Lucky's more endearing behaviors is his tendency to wrap himself up in clothes that are either warm from the dryer or that I have just taken off. The dryer things are usually my sweatclothes from sessions on the exercise bike, so all these clothes, Fred surmises, have scents on them that Lucky really likes. He is quite playful sometimes; almost as if I had been sweating catnip. Anyway, today I came upstairs to find him buried underneath a shirt. So I snapped a picture with my camera. When he saw the flash, he came up for air and I took another picture. These two pictures are below:

July 11: I'm Ready For My Closeup, Mr. DeMille

Not much going on at the kitty ranch this morning, save for Tyger laying on the desk looking even more handsome than usual:

Tyger has a few places in the house where he can always be found if he isn't in the den with us. Upstairs on the guest room bed or curled up in the master bathroom towel basket are two of his favorites. In the living room, there is a small table beside one of the wing chairs that is actually a large Blue Willow platter that has been inset into a wood frame, and it is apparently just the right size for Tyger, because is is often curled up in it.

August 17: In the Mirror Universe

You have seen before in this album pictures of Tyger curled up in the towel basket up in the master bath. It is his favorite place when he wants go grab some serious snooze time.

Today when I saw him up there, he was in one of his typical positions, and I've always found the image of him and his mirror image to be an interesting one, but of course I don't usually have my camera handy. Today, however, I went downstairs to get it so I could record that image.

Tyger often sleeps with a front paw touching the mirror, as he is doing today, and this makes the mirror-image effect more interesting. He is the only cat who sleeps in the basket, so he's the only cat you'll see in this pose.

September 18: Kitties at Play

Today, I just have a few pictures and a movie- all taken with my phone. In the first set, Zack is playing with Lucky on the desk, and here there is one still and one movie:

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

And then a couple more pictures of the movie participants:

September 26: You Are Getting Very Sleepy...

Each of our cats seems to have his own preferred sleeping place, but one location that they all share is on the desk, just to the left of the computer station. Regardless of what might already be there, any of our three cats can blithely shove stuff out of the way or just nap on top of what's there. Today it's Zack zonking out on the desk:

November 7: Lucky and Tyger

We got back from Florida on the 2nd of November. As is often the case, Lucky and Tyger were very glad to see us, and made every effort to monopolize our attentions for a while. Even more than usual, they were almost always in the same room as we were or, after Fred went home, I was.

On one particular afternoon, while I was working on my laptop, Tyger decided that he needed to be more of the focus of attention. So, as he does often, he took up residence on top of the mouse cord, effectively slowing me down to where I had to pay attention to him.

Later that same day, while I was working on the desktop machine, both Lucky and Tyger laid down on the desktop and watched me. This is unusual behavior; usually only one of our cats at a time occupies that position. I took three, similar pictures of the two of them, and there are clickable thumbnails below for these pictures; just click on a thumbnail to view:

November 28: Typical Saturday Morning

It's Saturday morning, we are listening to Ed Wallace and, as usual, the cats are much in attendance (at least after Fred gets up).

Fred has just given the cats their morning ration of canned food, and now they are all in the study thinking I might have something more for them. It is odd to have them all three on the desk at the same time. Shortly after Fred took the picture at right, Zack wandered off and Tyger jumped down heading for parts unknown, leaving Lucky in sole possession of the coveted desk space.

December 20: Lucky at Play

Lucky, the cat we have had the longest, is also our most playful. He is always running around the house chasing the other cats. He seems to thrive on constant activity. Here are a couple of photos we took of this energetic cat today in the study:

Well, those are our pet pictures for this year; there will be more in the next.

You can use the link below to return to the Index Page for 2015.

Return to Index for 2015