Return to the Index for 2021

Welcome to the album page for all of the pictures we took of the cats during 2021!

It's a cold day at the end of January, and the master bedroom is about the warmest room in the house. Add that to the fact that I've strewn some of my just-worn clothes on the bed- something which routinely attracts Lucky and perhaps Bob, but not all four of them. That's a rarity, so I took a couple of pictures to record the event:

Today, the cats are just all over the place. They all started out downstairs in the study while we were listening to the Friday News Roundup on PBS, but when we left to go do stuff, most of the migrated upstairs. A couple of representative photos will illustrate:

When we were downstairs listening to a program, Zack was curled up on the floor, Lucky was stretched out on the desktop, and Bob was just nosing around. This is Lucky and Bob.

Cole wasn't with us in the study, and he didn't join the other three upstairs either. Of all four cats, he is the least likely to be where everyone else is.

In the last couple of days, the temperature has been dropping, and now we are warned that some really cold temperatures are coming right around Valentine's Day. A few days ahead, Lucky seemed not to notice or care, for he stretched out as usual in his favorite chair. I don't think any of our cats has a funnier position:

The next day, the temperature drop began (although no one warned anyone how bad it was going to get). The cats seemed to know, though, as all four of them started spending almost all their time in the study which, with its little space heater, now the warmest room in the house.

Storm a-Comin' (Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

I suppose I should cut down on the number of pictures I take of the cats, but they are so damn photogenic, especially when they are sleeping, that I can't seem to resist.

Zack

Lucky

The bed is a free-for-all, hosting sometimes all four cats, but chairs and other venues are usually single occupancy, except this afternoon, when Bob and Zack were in the same chair.

Bob and Zack

Today, Fred has brought down some beautiful lilies from his house where they are blooming, and we've put some in a vase and put it on the desktop next to the computer. Being the inquisitive creatures they are (and attuned to scents as well) it did not take the cats long to find them:

Today I have a few pictures of the cats to show. In the first two, Bob has a new perch that he seems to like; I just hope he doesn't lose his balance:

Coming down the stairs from taking those two pictures of Bob, I found Lucky in the study zonked out in one of the wing chairs:

Earlier this year, you saw a picture (rare as they are) where all four of our cats were together in the same place, and I did make the comment that this was a rare occurrence.

When I made that comment, I had completely forgotten that getting all four in the same place at the same time actually occurs fairly often- about once a day, actually. And that's when they are getting their daily allotment of canned cat food in the morning.

Although a couple of the cats are a bit finicky about brands and flavors, they will all come running when they know its time to get fed out of a can. And this happens like clockwork, as soon as they hear me coming downstairs in the morning.

So here are all four of our cats- Lucky, Bob, Cole, and Zack.

For this month, Fred and I just happened to take some pictures when we thought our owners were particularly interesting poses (some of which we put them in). You might enjoy seeing some of them:

Cats always seem comfortable anywhere; I used to think they always looked for plush, cozy places to curl up, but they don't. Cole doesn't mind at all just relaxing on the coffee table.

I guess we are fortunate that all our cats are gregarious. Zack in particular likes to be getting massaged, laying in my lap, or being close by. One of his favorite spots is right on my computer table, and he certainly looks relaxed.

When Fred is finished with his yogurt, he offers the last bits to whichever cats want to come get it. Everyone but Zack seems to really like it.

All the cats like lap time when they can get it, and this morning it is Zack's turn. He will calmly lie upside down in Fred's lap while Fred rubs his tummy. Cats have to feel really comfortable with you to allow this, or even to lie in a way that exposes their underside. In the wild, that can be fatal.

Women shouldn't wear black at a wedding, but for guys, black, the color Cole always wears, is always proper, and so Cole looks good in any setting.

It goes without saying that Cole always wears black when he is performing on stage; so did Ferrante and Teicher.

But even when he is just relaxing in the sunshine, he stays formal. Perhaps this helps him absorb what heat comes through the triple-pane windows.

In the search for a really great cat toy, Fred's acquired a floppy fish. It was a little underwhelming, but worth a movie and a picture.

(Mouseover Image if Video Controls Not Visible)

To round out the Pet Page for this year, I have some incidental pictures we snapped around the house during the fall and before Christmas.

A Precarious Perch

(Picture at left) Cole is our youngest, and I guess he is also the most adventurous. He is just about the only cat who will get up on the ledge at the top of the stairway, usually straddling it like a little monorail cat. I don't think Lucky or Zack ever got up there, although when he himself was younger, Bob would jump up there occasionally.       (Picture at right) A cat has to be pretty trusting to let you anywhere near his most vulnerable area. With Fred, Bob is just that- very, very, trusting. I can't hold Bob that way, but Fred has no problem. Bob's look seemed to tell me I was intruding.

"Are You Talkin' to Me?

Here are two common situations, particularly in the fall and winter:

The desk lamp gives off heat, and the cats like to sleep under or at least near it. That the desk is usually covered in stuff one of us is working on doesn't deter them at all, nor does the fact that there might already be a cat occupying the space.

Lucky is always wanting to get in my lap when I'm at the laptop, but sadly he is simply too big to be much of a lap cat when I'm sitting here. On a couch is a different matter, as he can then be partially on the furniture. But with him in my lap here, I can't get anything done.

When Zack is not in one of his usual spots, or angling to get petted, he is the "curlingest" of all four cats. That is, when he is asleep, it is in a comfortable chair in the classic cat position.

One of Zack's most endearing qualities is his desire to be nearby, and that often means right on the table where I'm doing stuff on my laptop. And when he's on the table, this is the position he favors.

Lucky, on the other hand, is either on the desk or in one of the chairs, and he takes advantage of the chair back to support him as he lies upside down with all four paws draped across the chair arms. I have no idea how this can be comfortable, but he does it a lot.

Well, that's all the pictures we have of our housemates for this year. You can use the link below to return to the index page for 2021.

Return to the Index for 2021