James and Kasey

Photo and explanation by Jenn:

Every time Kasey sees James with that blanket, she picks it up and drapes it over him and says, “nighty night.”

James and Hanna

Photo by Jenn.

Hanna and the Christmas tree

Photo by Jenn.

Dora settles in up north

From my mom, via e-mail:

Here’s some pictures of Dora. Sorry, I did not write to you sooner. She is doing well. She is really sweet. Eats well. Sleeps on all the furniture. Sleeps on the bed most of the night, except when she is off exploring in the dark. I KNEW if you two said a cat was a “good one” it would be true. She is fitting in well and really smart. I tell her something, and she does it. Wow! (Haven’t need to use the squirt bottle either.)

So, all’s well that ends well for a little lost kitten from the High Desert.

The Coyote Project, Day 22

Elvis has left the building.

My parents came down from Oakland this weekend to ogle the kid and pick up the kitten. Dad played with Dora (and Lucky) a bunch Friday night with the feather on a stick and the toy spider on a stick, there as a Saturday afternoon shopping trip to Petco and then Sunday morning, I tossed half of one of the sedatives Dr. Ahmed had prescribed down Dora’s throat, and then she was off on the 95, headed north.

That night, I got a text message from my dad:

The Dora has landed! Easy trip. She tried to prove she was stronger than any old dope and stayed awake a lot of the way. Even so, she was calm. Exploring now

Then there was a text message about Aliens in America (great show), and then this one:

Found the vet papers. Thanks anyway. Dora jumping after Temptation-on-a-Stick. Back to normal (?)

Dora’s departure couldn’t come soon enough for Hanna: Late Saturday night, Jenn had dragged the old scratching post tower to the living room on its way to the garage and leaving our lives, and Lucky climbed up on top and curled up atop it, as Alpha Cat. While we were watching TV, I looked up and saw that Dora had taken the number two spot, and Hanna, ears back and very irritated about the whole situation, had ended up below her, in the number three slot. To add to the indignity of having the pecking order explicitly spelled out like this, Hanna had to put up with Dora leaning down and taking mock jabs at her face, as if to taunt her.