Sleep Tight, Slater

Our cats nap often and everywhere (as many cats do). When Bree spotted Slater under the kitchen table taking a snooze, she decided to make him a little more comfortable with a blanket. So sweet!

Not Again

Hi All,
We have more sad news on our furry friend front. Blanca went to the vet two weeks ago, because she had dropped a few pounds. The vet said overall she looked thin, but was not dehydrated and otherwise in good shape. So, perhaps we just needed to feed her more. We asked to run some blood work to rule out other causes. What it showed was that Blanca has the same kidney failure issue that we went through with Cue a year ago. Blanca is nine years old and still on the young side for this (just like Cue). So, how is this happening again?!? Unlike Cue, the vet said it appeared from the numbers that we caught Blanca's issues closer to the onset. (Unfortunately, symptoms do not appear until 70% of the kidney function is gone.) That being said, she was probably looking at living another 1 - 3 years on a special diet. We started the diet immediately, and I was relieved that she liked her new food. But the relief was temporary. A few days ago, Blanca stopped eating and was drinking less. So it was back to the vet for her yesterday. This time we received more dire news. From a blood test, Blanca's numbers have skyrocketed in the past two weeks and the disease is progressing quickly. The vet said they could get her rehydrated and see if that gives her a boost to get back on track. But the vet really didn't have much in the way of encouraging words for us. We'll call today to check on her progress with her fluid therapy, and see what the vet thinks about moving forward.
On a separate but related note, we also found out recently that Riley has a torn ACL. We are in a waiting period to see if it can heal on it's own, with some decreased activity. If not, it will be surgery for her.
No more bad luck in the pet department please; we've had our share!

I Miss That Boy

Hi All,
It's been over five weeks now that our cat Sampson went missing. I have pretty much lost all hope of him returning to us. Still, I have been reading craigslist for local lost and found pets and watching the petfinder website for any signs that he may have shown up in a shelter nearby. (I sent an email to someone who posted they found a siamese that was sort of close to us. Their pictures of the found cat did not look like Sampson to me, but I thought it couldn't hurt to inquire a bit more. But, unfortunately, I did not get a response back.)
I also wouldn't feel right if we did not make a trip to the local animal shelter to investigate, just in case. So I packed up the kids today, and we did just that. The kids enjoyed looking at the cats being held there. I explained to them that we were looking for Sampson. We looked at all the cats being held, reviewed the log of strays found since his missing date, and filed a lost cat report. After taking one last look at the kitties, I told the kids, "C'mon, Sampson is not here. We will have to keep looking. " Bree replied, "Yeah, I miss that boy." I said, "Me too, Bree!"

Missing

Hi All,
Well, it's been close to two weeks now that our Sampson has been missing. Of course, I feel horribly responsible. At the height of frustration, I put him outside after he had peed for what seemed like the millionth time on our clothing and carpet. There was presumably a medical reason for this (crystals), and he got plenty of medical attention and special treatment around here. He had been on medication (3rd round) which helped him temporarily in the past and a special diet that was supposed to cure him. Still, it didn't stop.
Anyway, I didn't want him to run away, or wander off and get lost, or simply not come back. I didn't expect any of that to happen. Blanca and Cue didn't have issues coming and going outside as they pleased. Why would he? He stayed outside at my parents' farm for months. He even had jaunts of days away and returned. He had a collar with our phone number on it. So, I spent the first week waiting and fully expecting a call, telling us to come pick up our cat.
What's kind of weird is I have literally taken no pictures of him (the few I have are from my mom). It's like somehow I knew he would be a short-timer with us. The kids thought he was barrels of fun, and he was a real cuddly guy, which I enjoyed. But he really rubbed Blanca the wrong way, and he seriously got in Riley's face too (nothing she couldn't handle). And I won't mention how many times he "disregarded" Riley's bed (a favorite target!) And maybe this sounds silly, but I hate the fact that the last time I saw him I was angry with him.
I don't know; maybe we just weren't a fit. I still look whenever I am walking and driving out around the neighborhood. I'm hoping the fact that he hasn't come home means he found a nice place to settle in. Perhaps he wandered and someone else took an immediate liking to him, so much so, that they did not want to return him. Perhaps he is living in one of the barns nearby and enjoying an outdoor life again. There is one very close by that I highly suspect. Maybe "missing" to me is simply "relocated" to Sampson.

Treats

Hi All,
My climber wasted no time put his skills to good use this week. You see the step stool to the right of him? He carried that over to the bar stool, which allows him to reach the seat. This, in turn, allows him access to untouchables on top of the counter (in this case, their Valentines candy boxes). At least he was courteous enough to snag Bree's treats too!

"What's wrong with a little morning snack, Mom?"

And Bree has also turned into a courteous little Mamma of sorts. She laid out treats, complete with tableware, for Blanca as she sat on the bar stool.

"Pets need treats too!"

And a visit from Papa is always a treat. Here's the bunch relaxing and prepping for a much needed nap....

My Kitchen is for Climbing

Hi All,
Drew has decided that the new kitchen is for cooking climbing. He likes to scale the cabinets, stand in the sink, and flip the light switch off and on. He's quick at it, so I don't always catch him in time to stop him. I don't want him to fall, but he's really quite proficient at it now. :) I only hope our real kitchen cabinets are not next!

And this was a sweet moment between Drew and Riley (or should I say the best pillow ever!)

New Kitty on the Block

Hi All,
I wasn't really expecting this, but we have adopted yet another cat. He found his way into our home via my parents. It all started back in the spring when my dad caught him in a live trap, intending to cage a pesky possum. Instead, he found our boy, whom we call Sampson. My dad took a liking to him and sure enough, started feeding him. Sampson resided happily on my parents' farm through the summer and fall. But as it turned cold, he yearned to be inside. He made his way into my parents' basement, but their other cat was more than displeased with sharing even a little of his warm, cozy space. Apparently Sampson took over Cossie's bed. Can you say alpha cat?!? But when it came right down to it, my parents were just not up for another cat in the household (or at least one of them wasn't!) That's where we came in. I didn't envision getting another cat so soon after losing Cue. But, he needed a home and he found us. My vet asked "Did you adopt him, or did he adopt you?" Surely, it was a little of both! Busy days here, and I have yet to take his picture. But anyone that knows my mom, knows she has captured our new furry friend on film. :) So, here I present to you - Sampson. Our new kitty on the block!

Tribute to Cue

Hi All,
I wanted to post a tribute to Cue and remember our happy times together. 

I met and fell in love with Cue in  March 2003 when he was almost a year old. At the time, I had his sister Blanca for about a year after bringing her home from my parents' litter of new kittens. I was still single and living on my own at my condo in Dewitt. I was also traveling a lot for work and felt sorry to leave Blanca so many times on her own. So, I thought another cat would be the perfect answer to her supposed loneliness. I found the pet finder website and liked the idea of adopting a cat from a shelter and giving it a chance for a better life. I probably looked at hundreds of pictures of other cats before I found a picture and description of Cue. But when I did, I knew from his sweet demeanor depicted that he was the cat for me. The interesting part was he was residing at a cat rescue in Allegan, which was a few hours from where I lived. After exchanging emails with the rescue owner, I took my friend Monica with me to meet Cue. When she told her husband Jim we were going all the way to Allegan to get a cat, he remarked "That cat better do cartwheels!" Well, he didn't do cartwheels, but he may as well have, because he did charm the heck out of me. Cue came out to meet us and rubbed up against our legs and wanted to be pet. The rescue lady (whom we referred to as the "cat lady") had a three year old grandson visiting, and he proceeded to yank on Cue's tail. Cue didn't mind one bit and Monica noted how good he was with children. I noticed a bit of discharge coming from his nose that was a little concerning, but the cat lady said he had just recently come down with a little something and that she could send some antibiotics with us to treat him. Then, just like that, Cue walked himself right into the cat carrier, as if to announce "Take me home!" And I did.

Blanca was not immediately happy with her new house-mate, which is to be expected. Cue stayed in his own bedroom for a few days so that we could ease into their interactions. They certainly learned to tolerate each other, but they pretty much never stopped fighting. (So much for curing Blanca's loneliness!)

Cue's nose discharge worsened and it took several visits to the vet and treatments to finally diagnose him with a chronic respiratory infection. The vet said sometimes when cats get an infection when very young, it can settle in and never really leave. We tried a round of steroids to treat it, but it wasn't a permanent fix. The vet finally asked me if I could live with it "as is", because it was not slowing Cue down in the least bit. So that's what we did. He was forever after the "snotty kitty", but I didn't mind. I always felt that someone had to take care of him, and why not me? Besides, all the love and affection he gave in return was well worth it.

Cue loved all the things most cats do. In his younger years, he loved chasing mice and other varmints and loved bringing home his catch. We had quite the raucous once, because Cue actually chased a chipmunk into the condo when I called him to come in!  He was so excited by it, I had to lock him in the basement so I could let the chipmunk find his way back out the door without further threat.

This is one of my favorite pictures of Cue. He is standing nice and tall, and you can see how handsome he is with his adorable white patches on his chest and belly.

While they did love to fight, Cue and Blanca didn't mind temporary reconciliations when a blanket, pillow, or cushion was involved......

or even a sunny napping spot on the deck......

I wasn't always successful at keeping Cue and Blanca off the kitchen counters. It was impossible to enforce any rules while I was off at work, so I pretty much gave up. Getting them a drinking fountain did help some. But, Cue loved to go in search of people food. He was especially fond of the butter dish.

Probably one of my favorite things about Cue was his affection. He was my lap kitty and always very affectionate. I could always count on him to greet me when returning home. I would scoop him up and hold him to his (and my) delight.

He loved to curl up with me on the couch and purr while I pet him. He loved to be near people and felt most comfortable around me. We took many a nap together, and he preferred to sleep in bed with me. He loved to be close to my head and would try to sleep as close to it as he could.

Jim and I met in 2006. Cue was happy to have one more person to pet him!

Of course, with Jim came Jim's dog Riley. The cats were not at all fond of dogs, and they had to learn how to deal with Riley. Blanca usually ran and hid, but Cue held his own. After a few run-ins, he and Riley settled in and peacefully coexisted. 

And Cue was even brave enough to claim Riley's bed as his own one day.....

Cue was an avid bird watcher. He used to let out the funniest "chatter" when he spotted a bird that he was especially excited to see. Cue and Blanca spent some time at my in-laws when we were in our "moving around" phase. There, Cue had the best spot in the house for his bird watching hobby, a sun-room surrounded by windows overlooking the back yard! Here Cue is in the sun-room in all his glory, taking it all in from the comfort of his cozy pillow.

And I suppose any avid bird lover also loves to be outdoors, for a chance to get up close and personal. I got Cue a collar with a bell to warn any unsuspecting birds. Here is Cue patiently waiting to be let out to see what fun he could find.....

Cue was a good sport when it came to household fun. Here he is at Christmas happily sporting the reindeer antlers that Blanca and Riley both adamantly refused to wear.....

Cue constantly wanted to be on my lap (or anyone’s lap), and he got plenty of it while I was pregnant. I was constantly tired! Here is Cue looking for some lap time....

The birth of Drew and Bree may have been the biggest adjustment for Cue. He really loved attention, and I know it was difficult when the twins were newborns for us to give much extra time and energy to the pets.  As far as lap time, there never seemed to be much of any available with two newborns to care for. I love this picture of Cue. Everyone is asleep and Cue seizes the opportunity to sneak onto Jim’s lap.

Still, he loved and accepted the twins as members of our family. As they grew, he became accustomed to crawling up in to their laps to cuddle also. 

And, remember the story of the three year old pulling his tail when I got him? Yup, he was a good sport about it to the end! 

Here he is mixing it up with Drew and Bree. He loved them!

Oh yes, I even caught Cue napping in the cribs on several occasions. I didn't approve of this, simply because Cue likes to sleep on heads. But he would never intentionally harm the children and no harm ever came of it.

While I was busy with the twins, Cue started losing weight and behaving strangely. It was Jim who said Cue should go to the vet, because he was looking awfully thin. We treated him for dehydration two times over a few months. But he never got permanently better and was hiding behind our t.v., darting around the house, having potty accidents and not wanting to be near us much.  In June, we ran lab tests at the vet and discovered his kidney failure. I was so sad to learn of his diagnosis. It was terminal, so I felt we were just handed a death sentence. I started to prepare myself mentally.  The vet gave us the option to put him on a special diet and give him fluid therapy, which meant injecting fluids under his skin via needle. The vet thought it may extend his life a few months, but there were no guarantees. I didn’t even know if I could do that. But Jim was supportive and said we should to try. Cue loved his special diet and was constantly begging to be fed. His gained weight steadily and easily, which was a good sign. We gave him fluid therapy every other day. Jim quickly became a pro at inserting the needle while I held Cue, and on good days we could perform the therapy in well under five minutes. While Cue initially avoided the therapy, we learned a few tricks to make it go smoothly. We fed him while we did it and also warmed his fluids. Plus, I think he learned it made him feel better and we were doing it from a place of love. He was amazingly transformed back into his sweet old self, and I was so happy to have my lovable kitty back. 

We knew he was feeling better, because he was back to sneaking table scraps and antagonizing Blanca. We have a rocking chair that Blanca spends a lot of time in, but Cue often would stir up trouble by jumping in next to her and starting up a fight. And, he was back to wanting to be his fun, cuddly self around the family.

What cat doesn't like to nap? Cue was no exception. He was one for finding the warmest spots possible. He loved sprawling out anywhere there was a patch of sun shining in. For this reason, he spent lots of time on the kids' diaper changing table which was located by the window. Here are a few other interesting napping spots he chose after his kidney disease diagnosis (when I think being warm was of ultimate importance to him).

While Cue was improving, I was still holding my breath and feeling we were on borrowed time. All I could think about was the vet gave us four months. When we started the therapy, I watched Cue closely for signs he was not feeling well. I never wanted him to suffer. But there were none, only a constant and steady improvement. A few months in, I stopped looking. He was doing fine.  His fluid therapy comes in bags that last us twenty days. In the beginning, I cautiously replaced them one at a time. But my last trip to the vet, I was so confident that I picked up two bags.

On October 7th, the four month mark arrived. Cue was in excellent shape, and I remember how thrilled I was that we made it. Jim and I talked about what a special day it was. I spent a little extra time with Cue and told him how great he did with his therapy. I envisioned him being around for years. That was Thursday.

And Friday brought the unthinkable. It was a shock and I hate that there was no warning. Looking back, I am in a strange way thankful for his kidney failure diagnosis. It was a bold reminder that we wouldn't have Cue with us forever. And it helped us cherish the last few months with him. He received lots of attention and surely loved the canned food that his special diet called for. I think he went out a happy kitty!

I miss Cue very much. I miss him tracking me down and climbing into my lap. I miss him asking for his food. I miss his funny meow and his warm purrs. He brought our family so much entertainment, joy and love. Deep down, I know the feeling was mutual.

I couldn't have asked for a better cat. There will never be another like Cue.  This is one of our last pictures of Cue. He crawled up to snuggle while I was laying on the couch and has his leg wrapped around mine.

This and the others are so typical of him, and that’s how I want to remember him – happy, rested, at peace, loving, well loved.

Cue, we love you and you will always be with us in our hearts!  

Beating the Odds, Only to Lose

Hi All,
This post was supposed to be titled "Beating the Odds", because two days ago, Cue did exactly that. You see, when Cue was diagnosed with kidney failure, the vet told me three out of four cats with kidney disease as advanced as Cue's could possibly live another three or four months with special diet and fluid therapy. Only a minority of them could expect to live longer. Well, two days ago Cue hit the four month milestone of living with kidney disease under our management. And I'm happy to say not only was he living, he was thriving. He was up to nine pounds, which is what he weighed at his peak. He was back to doing all things he loved most - playing, cuddling, fighting with Blanca, begging for food. He was basically back to his old self, other than we had yet to convince him to use the litter box downstairs again.
But instead, on a fateful Friday night, my sweet kitty went out to play and never returned. It was an unseasonably warm evening, so while I found it a little strange when he didn't come when I called, I assumed he was enjoying himself outside. Jim was gone hunting. But my dad was visiting and said he would let him in before he went to bed if he came to the door. I awoke at 3 a.m. and found still no Cue at the door. It was still incredibly warm, so I dismissed it until the morning. When I went to the door again at 7 am and still no Cue, I knew something was wrong. When everybody was up, we went searching. We walked up and down our street and searched all the bushes around the house. I drove around the lake, but still no Cue. I knew time was of the essence to get him back home because he couldn't survive without his special diet and fluid therapy. But, my dad left only to return a little while later indicating he found my cat and that he was very sorry. He had been hit on the main road just past our street. My dad was kind enough to scoop up Cue's beat up little body and offer to bury him.
And I am left second guessing myself. There was no way of knowing what the night would bring. He had gone outside to play countless times in his life of 8.5 years and always returned home safely. And when I say countless, I mean several times a day when it was warm enough. Yet, should I have never let him go? To do so would have kept him alive, but I feel it also would have caged his spirit. Notice even in the picture above, he is at the slider waiting to be let out.
I guess it is another life lesson - life is unpredictable. And so many things about Cue were unexpected and unpredictable - like his chronic respiratory infection and his kidney disease, but also his over the top affection and incredible will to live through his illnesses. Plain and simple, he was the sweetest kitty and brought much joy to my life as a furry companion.
So, on a day when I should be celebrating the MSU football victory over U of M by a score of 34 - 17, it's rather bittersweet, and definitely more bitter than sweet. When I go to bed tonight, Cue won't be there to jump up and nuzzle my face before settling in next to me. It sucks when you beat the odds, only to ultimately lose when you least expect it.
Cue, you will never be forgotten! We love you!

Cue Update

Hi All,
It's been one week since we brought Cue home from the vet/hospital. He is now on a special diet, which incidentally he loves. The food he gets is formulated for cats with kidney disease. We started him on canned food only, as he had become a canned food snob ever since we started working on his dehydration. I didn't think there was any turning back, but we ended up buying a bag of dry food mid-week because the canned diet seemed a bit rich for him. Amazingly, he gobbles that up too. In fact, I had to check with the vet if it was okay to give him as much food as he will eat (which is about three times the standard recommendation for a cat his size). They gave us the green light for now. Issues we are facing with kidney disease are dehydration, weight loss and muscle wasting. So perhaps the additional food will help on these fronts. He is up a 1/2 pound from almost two weeks ago when he was diagnosed. (A half pound is good for a six pound cat!)
The other treatment we are administering is sub-q fluids, which will greatly help to address the dehydration that the disease causes. We give him 100 mL of fluid every other day, which is an interesting process to say the least. We have a bag of fluid attached to a needle which we inject into Cue and wait while he gets 1500 or so drips. (Thankfully, we don't have to count the drips!) I really wasn't sure we would be able to do this. But we have done it three times now, and each time has gotten better. I have to admit, even though I was the one who practiced sticking the needle in at the vet's last week, I couldn't do it at home! So, Jim stepped up to the plate and got it done. (Thank you Jim!)
Cue seems to have perked up since his darkest days. It's hard to know exactly how he is feeling, since he can't tell us. But he's no longer hiding behind the TV or howling. He has spent more time with the family as of late. And, he's in the kitchen trying to sneak some people food, one of his old tricks that used to be annoying and now is somewhat of a relief to see his interest (even though he can't have any). He spends a lot of time in the laundry room, where his food, water and litter box reside. (And, incidentally this makes less room for laundry. Maybe this is a good thing as is forces me to get it done quicker.) He sleeps on top of the counter. Except for today. I had just moved some stuff from the dryer to the living room and went back to the laundry room to find this....

Crazy cat! I didn't have the heart to move the poor boy. I don't consider a computer keyboard a prime napping spot. But Cue thinks it's the best thing in the world. And apparently, it doesn't get any better than this....

Cue Comes Home

Hi All,
Well I had a very emotionally draining week. After a few months of trying to figure out what was ailing our sweet kitty, Cue, we now have an answer. Cue was looking noticeably thinner a few months back. I didn't think too much of it, mostly because I don't have time to think too much of it. But Jim suggested he get checked out by the vet. Back on March 31, Cue had lost 3/4 of a pound. It doesn't sound like much, but it is noticeable on a cat who typically weighs 8 - 9 pounds. The vet could tell immediately that he was dehydrated. He also had his runny nose issue, which we know is a chronic thing for him. The vet said it could be a number of things. What he hoped was that his chronic upper respiratory infection had just gotten a little more than he could take, which led to the dehydration. We remained optimistic and followed the vet's recommendation to work on rehydrating him at home with canned food, tuna juice, and lots of water, etc. And we received medication for his runny nose (which is always a temporary fix). He enjoyed the canned food and initially seemed a bit better. But, we couldn't make much progress on getting his weight in check. In fact, in a month's time, he was slipping again. So it was back to the vet. This time, we had Cue spend a night there to receive a boost of fluids intravenously to combat the continued dehydration. But, Cue really wasn't making any progress on getting back to his old self. In fact, he was acting strangely - random potty accidents around the house, hiding behind our TV enclosure for hours on end, darting skiddishly around our house, and just plain looking like he didn't feel well. Finally, last week we returned to the vet again; now Cue was down to six pounds! We elected to run a full lab screen to get some answers. I won't go through the detail of the lab results, but it was very clear that Cue was suffering from kidney failure at eight years old (something we didn't originally suspect because he is young for that). Not only that, but it is pretty late stage based on his elevated lab numbers. The vet had both a kind and pragmatic talk with me about what I should/could do. There are special diets he could be given that were not as taxing on his kidneys, and we could choose to administer fluids under the skin to him at home. He said there was no way to know how well he would react and how long we could prolong his life doing this, but typically he has observed it will buy us three - four months. In a minority of cases, some cats can live an extra few years. Doing nothing, he did not think Cue had much time left and of course, the time could come that we would want to consider putting him to rest. I asked the vet if he knew what kind of pain Cue was in with kidney disease. He said it wasn't necessarily painful in an acute sense until the very late stages; he probably just feels under the weather for the time being. I wanted to try to the diet and fluid therapy, but I also did not want to make a selfish decision to prolong his life if it was not a quality life for him. So the doctor said take a few days and think it over, and if we wanted to try the fluid therapy that Cue should spend the weekend at the hospital to get an initial IV boost for a few days before we begin. While I had this discussion with the vet, Drew and Bree were chattering in the background. So the one of other things the vet told me I could do was go play with my kids. Funny but good advice! I had to remind myself while processing what was happening with Cue that we are fortunate for the health of Drew and Bree.
We decided to give the special diet and fluid therapy a shot, but we also decided to closely monitor Cue's progress. I always want to be on the lookout for clues that things are going downhill and that life is not fun for him anymore. Because the Cue we've seen the past few months is not a happy kitty. I really fear knowing when enough is enough. So, we'll set some indicators of his happiness level and gage them from here on out. So, after a weekend in the hospital, Cue is where he should be - home with us.

Bedfellows

Hi All,
So I walk in to the bedroom to get Drew after his nap, and here is what I found...

And the next morning while the kids played,

"Bree, honey, I really don't recommend this."

And look what I found after Bree's afternoon nap the same day...

"I was thinking about getting up, but now that you're here..."

"BFFs - Bedfellows Forever!"

I used to spend a lot of time worrying about the cats finding their way into the kids' cribs. Cue has a habit of sometimes entering our bedroom and attempting to curl up and sleep on my head. Plus, there's that old wives tale about cats sucking the breath out of babies! So, I make a point to fully close the bedroom doors whenever it is nap time or bed time. Every once in a while, I realize I've locked a cat in - oops! As you might notice in the pictures, Cue really is the gentlest of cats. It's one of the reasons I adopted him. While I'm still not comfortable intentionally letting the kids and cats sleep together, it was pretty cute finding them playing so nicely in the crib.

Pet "Nice" and Monkey in the Box

Hi All,
Drew and Bree are quite fascinated with our pets. In fact, they get downright excited when any of the pets will let them "pet" them. I've taken to telling them to "pet nice", with emphasis on "nice" when they are petting the cats. Being cats, they don't always appreciate enthusiastic petting. Well, based on all the times I have told them to pet nice, Bree has added the word "nice" to her vocabulary. Here is Bree telling us how she pets the cats.....

"Pet Nice!"

In other news, Drew has gotten clever with the "monkey in a box" toy. If you are wondering what a "monkey in the box" is, it's the same as a "jack in the box", only with a monkey. He has figured out he does not need to turn the crank to get the monkey to pop out. In fact, he's much less amused with that standard technique.....

Drew's "Monkey in the Box" technique



And lastly, Oma and Opa were over for a visit. We managed to get one picture of Oma and Drew during all the fun!

Cat and Dog Days of Summer

Hi All,
Several people have asked how our pets are adjusting to the twins. Jim and I feel it's all gone pretty smoothly. The cats are pretty oblivious; they hardly acknowledge the twins and go about their usual business (sleeping 75% of the time). And Riley is mildly curious at times, sniffing them down. Riley's worst offense is her random barking which can 1) scare the twins or 2) wake them.
Now if Riley, Cue and Blanca could talk, they may have a different story! It's pretty clear to all that they have been demoted. No more lap space for Cue. Less play time for Riley. Blanca has always been the independent one, so she seems the least affected by it all.
But, all in all, we're all getting along!

You DID get this for ME, right?

I think I'll sneak up on this lap while no one's looking

Doggone Cute