The Dolly Parton Internet Challenge

   

I recently saw the #dollypartonchallenge and was inspired by my ever-photo-loving pets to put a unique spin on it. I also posted it on my Instagram.  In the last picture, I tried to think of a social media platform that would fit the image, but I couldn't come up with one. So, I improvised 😊

We have Luna, who is my writing partner. She keeps me company at my desk every day. She's sweet. but she also steals my seat when I get up. For anything. Next, we have Colt. He is just hanging out, making sure he isn't missing anything. Oreo, my black and white cat just happened to walk in my office during this photoshoot. She looks thrilled, doesn't she? And last is Leia. This is a pic I've had of her before. This is how she greeted me one day after a particularly long day of editing, but it totally matches her zany personality! 

Did you do a pet-themed Dolly Parton Challenge? Let's see them!

Leia and Peanut

Leia and Peanut fight. A lot. Peanut thinks it is his mission to go after Leia. I could see the toll it was taking on Leia. She was stressed. She was always on the look out. Ready for the next clash. She remained  in one area of our kitchen which became her "safe spot, but Peanut could access her. She started losing hair, which I'm sure was from the stress.

A few months ago, we decided to keep them in separate rooms. Leia's apartment now is in our room. The changes I'm seeing are wonderful.  You can see that she feels safe again. She hides less. She plays.

 He hair is growing back. She loves to be brushed.

She cuddles. She even purrs now. I was worried that confining her to one room would be cruel, but she seems to be very happy with it. She truly has a safe space where she doesn't have to always be on the alert for danger.

I would love to allow her to roam around the house freely, but right now it doesn't seem to be an option. As long as she is happy and feels safe now, I'm okay with the arrangements.

Feel free to comment below if you went through something similar in your pet's hierarchy. What were your tricks?

Moving Day is Almost Here

This week has been pretty chaotic. We have been preparing for settling on a new home and for moving at the end of this week.  The cats have taken notice and carefully try to claim whatever they can. When they aren't doing that, they are quietly sitting aside, observing. I often wonder what goes through their minds. 

Earlier this week we had Oreo claiming a plastic box.

When that was used, we had a large cardboard box ready to use.  Yes, you guessed it.  She immediately jumped into it and sat down. She loves to jump into things. It's almost as if she can't resist.

Then, Peanut took notice of the box, and as soon as Oreo left,  Peanut jumped in.

However, I think the best happened this morning. Izzy snuck inside the pantry ( she has a whole routine that she uses in order to open to door)  and found the catnip I hid in there. At first I thought she was looking for the food container, which is not out of the realm of possibilities. She has been known to do that before.  Before we knew it she was rolling around and CHEWING the container. 

See how she made a perfect space to roll around in?

And there she goes, chewing it. She was one happy cat!

Finally, we cut her off. I don't think she minded though:

Updates

We have lots of updates on what I'm starting to call the "Imlay Farmland".  Between working, writing and training Colt, I've been pretty busy. We are also in the process of selling our current home and moving to a more agricultural area. Wish us luck. We're getting last minute drama. 

In the middle of all that, the animals have left us with no shortage of experiences. I wish I wrote them all down in a notepad so I would remember them all. I'll see what I can remember. 

Colt - Colt is our new Jack Russel Terrier we adopted in November shortly after Scooby passed. His story is on the previous blog post. Colt is very lovable and has a big personality.  He follows me everywhere and hates to be alone. He hates thunder and fireworks as well. He enjoys long walks and chasing the ball around. His favorite thing to do? He ADORES car rides. 

The new development for him is a cage. His anxiety was causing him to find and eat harmful things such as a half a bag of Hershey Kisses. We got him a large cage for when I am not home, so he can move around and change positions. He is adjusting well. Sometimes he goes in there on his own when he wants to rest or sleep. 

Luna - Luna had a trip to the vet about a week and a half ago. She started with a UTI and they also administered her vaccines. Her med for the UTI was a long lasting antibiotic shot. (Pet enthusiasts, what are your experiences and thoughts about this? I'm reading mixed reviews) 

Luna's latest adventure was to try and chase a yellow jacket that got into the house. She is one strong willed cat and refuses to accept a "No" from us pesky humans. I got rid of the bee, but not before snapping this pic:

Luna's now back to recovering from her illness, but starting to use the litter box inconsistently. We are hoping her spay surgery on Friday helps with this situation. I suspect this has something to do with our newest cat Leia.  

Leia - Who is Leia you ask? She is technically Luna's older sister. Yes, Leia and Luna are sisters...and they certainly fight like it. Leia's owner had to give her up and "Imlay Farmland" took her in 😉 This has been a difficult adjustment. Luna can be moody and egg on Leia. Leia had a rough time at her old home and can get aggressive to prevent other attacks. Leia is also due for her spaying this Friday, and we hope this will calm her down. 

Izzy, Oreo and Peanut have been sitting back and watching the show. 

What have you and your pets been up to lately? 

Introduction

Welcome to Pet Muses! I'm Jen Imlay and this blog is about my family's many pets. I plan do do some book reviews on pets and animals as well , so be sure to check back for that. We have 5 cats and a dog (yes, you read that right. That wasn't a typo. We have 5 cats.)
 With all these characters, there's always something interesting going on around here. Today, though, we'll focus on introductions so that you get to know these guys.

First is Scooby. He is a 10 year old black Rat-Cha mix (Rat Terrier/Chihuahua). Hi favorite things to do include sleeping, eating, cuddling and playing with the cats. He interacts with them all the time. I think he's picking up habits from them. For instance, I am pretty sure I caught him washing his face the way cats do (licking his paws and wiping his face.) We have a very shy cat (Simba  - more about him later) who Scooby thinks is fun to chase. He's a good companion though and will always cuddle up with you on the couch.

Next we have Peanut, one of our orange and white cats. He loves running outside as soon as someone opens the front door. Just a few minutes of fresh air, the grass and concrete makes his day. He will also follow us when we go downstairs to let Scooby outside. Many times they go out back together for a short time. Peanut can be quirky. Sometimes he's in a "You-all-annoy-me-don't-bother-me" mood. Other times he will cling to you to get his "kitty hug".  And every once in a while he feels the need to let Simba know that Peanut is in charge. (As if that poor cat would dethrone him anyway)

Then in comes Izzy and Oreo. We went to the humane center to look into adopting another cat. When we got there, the center was having a "clear the shelter" event. If you bought a kitten they would give you one free along with the first 30 days of medical care/pet insurance, We instantly fell in love with Izzy, a calico kitten, and her crate mate Oreo who was a black and white kitten. We didn't intend on bringing 2 home, but that's what happened We were nervous about how Peanut might react to the new kittens, but he was instantly intrigued. Before we brought them home he was "grumpy" pretty often. But after we brought them home, he began to play more and was much happier.  I never would have predicted that based on Peanut's previous behavior.

About a month later, a friend posts on Facebook about an orange and white cat who needed a home. Shelters couldn't take him and nobody else could. His tail was injured - it was missing hair in the middle of it. Some hair grew back, but not all. We took him in, and named him Simba.
Simba is a very nervous cat. He hides from sudden movements and noises. At the same time, he loves to be pet and played with. Its as if he craves human interaction.

After we adopted Simba, we promised ourselves that our pet family was beyond complete.  That changed October  2, 2017.  My husband Kevin sent me a text when he got to work.  All it said was "New Addition" and had this photo

It turns out Luna, this very young kitten,  was found that morning after a fox attacked her mother and the rest of her litter. She was the only one left. I knew she was family the minute I saw her picture. Welcome the the family Luna!

Now that you have a basic introduction to these animals, I'll be sharing stories about them all. Stay tuned. If you like my posts, please be sure to subscribe, comment and share!