Cat Update

 For whatever reason, (maybe because, lately, Ray has been SO lazy due to the excessive heat) the cats have been coming out of cat Siberia more often. Moonie has almost totally lost her fear of Ray. He licks her head enthusiastically but briefly (you can tell that the blind dog thinks the cat tastes weird) and she tries to rub her face on his nose but is never entirely successful; Ray usually is so excited to be around Moonie that he can't stay still long enough for her to make good contact. When he trips over her, instead of making a mad-dash for the stairs, Moonie just trots over to a piece of furniture, sits behind it, and watches the dog look for her. (I can tell by the look on her face that she finds it very amusing that he can't find her.) 

Moonie, snoozin' on the couch...

....camouflaged

Hugo is getting a bit braver, at least, braver in terms of scaredy-catness. I think Hugo has finally discovered his superpower; when he spits and swipes, the dog swerves away and stays away. So Hugo, too, has been around more. He looks around to see where the dog is sleeping, then plops over in the hall to take a bath, or tiptoes around the dog, stretched out in the front hall, to get to the door to be let out. I'll find Hugo sleeping on our bed in the middle of the afternoon (he hasn't done this since I established the cat room) or on one of the recliners in the family room. While Ray was stretched out on the stair landing, Hugo crept around the dog to go up the stairs. It took a while before the big black cat found the courage - he'd get to the stair just below the landing where Ray was sleeping and nervously look past the dog and up the rest of the staircase. Then Hugo would come back to sit at the foot of the stairs with his neck stretched waaaaayy out to see if the dog was moving. He repeated the process a few more times before finally sneaking around the dog and up the stairs. Ray never even lifted his head. 

It's taken us three years to get to this point, and it may not last past the summer heat, but for now, I'm really enjoying having my cats back. 

Hey, look what I brought ya

I think it's still alive...

I'll just check.

Oh yeah! It's still alive!