Adorable! Pooky does not look like the typical tiger cat. Does she have some unusual lineage?

Nope. Just standard American shorthaired tabby. Born in a barn on a goat farm. Humble beginnings, but she thinks she’s a princess. 🥰

That tongue is too cute! Our kitty Chloe used to do something that made me laugh. I’d keep her can of wet food in the fridge once it was opened. Then I’d set it out on the kitchen island to take some of the chill off before feeding her. If she felt she’d waited long enough she’d jump up and slowly push the container with her paw until it hit the floor. She knew the noise would alert me.

@chloebud Awww! That's so cute! I have two questions:

Is your Houzz name after her?

Did she help you clean up the mess she made?

My Houzz name is a combination of her name and our dog, Buddy. Buddy was our first Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. He was my FIL’s dog and came to us when he passed away. Truly a sweetheart! We now have Lily, a Cavalier puppy…10 months old!💕

Luckily, Chloe didn’t make a mess since the can of cat food was always in a closed container, although the inside of the container was a bit ”gloppy!”

Years ago we had a miniature dachshund. You could look at him and smile showing your teeth and say ”smile Benjie” and he would show his teeth back. No growling, just smiling.

My little pooch has to bring a toy with him when he goes to bed. Every night, when he sees I am getting ready to go to bed, he picks out a favored toy and brings it to bed with him. He'll play with it or chew on it for few minutes and then he goes to sleep. He does this without fail every single night!

Our late beloved Katya looked a lot like Pookie, same colouring and markings. She was as smart as a whip. One day I found her sitting in the laundry sink, with a trickling noise. I wondered what was going on until I spotted her sister Nadia in the litter tray, which is in the laundry. Clearly Katy couldn't wait, so she was peeing down the drain in the sink!

We have a flat in the city, where DH stayed during the work week before he retired. Now we stay there when we want a city break. We'd take the cats with us. If they got frightened by loud noises or whatever, they would dash into the kitchen, open the undercounter cupboards and get in to hide in the back corner. Nadia still does that.

Nadia's latest trick is taking her thyroid medication. Recently she was diagnosed with having a thyroid condition, which had caused her to lose a lot of weight. We opted for a liquid medication rather than a pill, as easier to administer. At first, when Nadia saw me holding the syringe, she'd start sneaking away, resulting in a slow chase around the house until I caught her and held her while I gave her the medication. Now, when she sees me at the counter where I fill the syringe, she will come up to me and meow until I bend over to give her the medication, and opens her mouth for me to squirt it in. I am amazed!

Pooky looks exactly like my cat Piper, down to the tongue constantly out. Unfortunately, she died at only five years old on the vet's table during a routine visit (cardiomyopathy, which was never diagnosed).

Our downstairs is literally littered with cat toys and wands, but Poppy and Willie love "ropey". It all started because I tied up my four pairs of Crocs on a piece of rope, which they always wanted to play with. So now there are various pieces of rope with their toys and all I have to do is yell "ropey' and they come running to stalk a piece of rope. Cheap toy.

For any of you Costco people, they had the greatest cat toy for $9.99, consisting of a large corrugated bed filled with 15 cat toys and a wand. They loved it, so I went out and bought another one to keep as a spare.

murraysmom, that tummy in your first pic is beyond cute!💕

Some years ago, we had a beagle. Max. He would eat anything and everything. He ended up having to have a benign growth removed, and he needed a pill qd. post op. We visited some friends and brought him with us. When it came time to give him his pill, I offered that he takes it very well when it's wrapped in a slice of cheese. My friend gave us a slice of the only cheese she had...fat free...lactose free. Son-of-a-gun, he turned up his nose in extreme offense, and left the room in a huff. We laughed for hours.

All of our cats make us laugh to no end. Bruno was the smartest of the bunch. He was a feral we fed outdoors. Every night he (and others) came to the porch for supper. One night he came inside when we opened the door to put food out. Rather than run to get his supper, he pranced into the house and asked for some love. After a few minutes of petting, we put him outside and told him to go eat. He did the same thing the next evening and the evening after that. He wanted love more than food. We made a new rule: 3 nights in a row meant he belonged in our home.

About 3 months later Bruno "talked" another feral into giving that new rule a try. Yep, it worked for Buster too.

I knew Bruno was the smart one. I bought a clicker, brought out my 16" embroidery hoop, a handful of treats and the kitchen stool. He was a natural at jumping through the hoop. Each time he made it through I raised the hoop. That just tickled me.

Bruno was our ambassador. Whenever a newbie arrived he took them under his wing. Showed them the ropes. If we had kittens to bottle feed, other than that chore, he took the role of Mama. After we fed a kitten, he'd take them to his bed and clean their behinds. Then they'd go to sleep.

He lived inside with us from November 2016 until he said his final goodbye on May 4, 2026.

A previous cat of ours, Motley (another tabby), also used to sit with her tongue out. It made her look like the village idiot LOL.

Sweet Piper

Loving all these stories.

Charlie just turned 3. We adopted him from North Shore Animal League in October of 2023.

Our Sunshine had died in June. My husband was reluctant, and I needed a little time, but I have to have a little furry friend in my life. If I could, I’d have several. They‘re just such a blessing.

pippin (brindle) has HER spot on the couch. she is very protective of her spot, not in an aggressive way but if frank is in HER spot, she will pace around and bark until he either moves or i open the cookie jar which never fails to get his butt in gear at which time, he will saunter into the kitchen for a treat and she will climb up in HER spot for one of many daily naps.

it all started years ago but has progressed over the past few months. i coax him with a cookie, she stands at the couch wondering if SHE should come to the kitchen but afraid that if she does, he will reclaim HER couch spot and she will get frustrated all over again...

so, when frank would come for his cookie, i would tell pip "go get your spot" and she would always (still does) choose the couch over the cookie...

recently, her routine has changed a little bit. now, she barks, waits for him to get down, then stands right smack in front of HER spot and waits patiently for me to TELL her to "go get your spot". only then will she climb up for a nap. either i inadvertently trained her too well or she is making me look like a fool (i tend to think it's the latter) 🤷🏼‍♀️ ...

sometimes, frank won't take the hint and instead of going to the other end of the couch, he will climb up and curl his 150# body into the tiniest ball because, well, just because.

note the look on pip's face as if she's saying "really mom? really??" if you're wondering if dogs can give an "eye roll", the answer is YES. 🤣

it isn't like there's not enough room and i don't know why that particular spot is the chosen one but, it is what it is and sometimes, their 10 minutes of jockeying for that coveted corner cracks me up.

@Ninapearl I’m wondering if there’s a special seating place for you in your LR? Maybe you sit in the middle between the two if you get there before Frank is all sprawled out on his back? The pics you post of Frank & Pippin never fail to make me smile!

@KW PNW i've tried to squeeze into that spot in the middle but every time i do, i end up with both dogs in my lap. i have a recliner on the other wall and that's MY spot. sometimes watching tv can be challenging because pip and frank are both lap sitters, oftentimes they want to be in my lap at the same time. i just go with the flow, pause whatever i'm watching and then resume it when they move their big butts elsewhere. 🤣

i'm glad you enjoy the pictures. it's no secret that these dogs are my life. i will move heaven and earth for them and they repay me tenfold with so much love!

Ninapearl, I do love your dogs. Pippin's blanket reminds me of one of your other dogs. Was it Samson who was black and white?

💖they are pretty lovable!

yes, samson was a big, lovable, goofy harlequin. he had to have his tail amputated, i tried for many weeks to get his "happy tail" healed, to no avail...

as was destiny...

Mom had a great dane when I was a teen and into my early 20s. Lady was an awesome dog. Mom had a special couch that lady was allowed to sleep on ONLY if the special blanket was on it. During the day the blanket was off, and around 5pm or so Mom would spread the blanket out and then Lady could get on the couch. If Mom had visitors who stayed later in the afternoon they usually sat on ”Lady’s couch”. Lady would sit in front of them and stare, as if willing them to go home so the blanket could come out and she could get up on ”her” couch. 😂

I got a call from Mom to tell me that Lady had passed away, while my husband was at work. I went out to the front step to sit and have a little cry, as we had a newborn in the house and she was having a nap and I didn't want to wake her. DH came walking up from the bus stop and saw me crying, and naturally asked what was wrong. Through my tears I said, ”Lady died.” DH went white and rushed into the house, yelling ”Where is she? Where is she?” I followed to quiet him down so as not to wake our daughter. It turned out he misheard me and thought I said ”The baby died.”

@colleenoz your first paragraph is hilarious. your second paragraph is terrifying! your poor DH must have been in a panic!!

ETA @seagrass, i got a notification for a post about your aussies but i don't see it in this thread. it looks like you're adding a second aussie soon?

When I first got Elliott, he would hide. One time I came in and couldn't find him anywhere. Then his head popped up. He likes to sleep in the basket of bedding to be washed.

Your cat in all likelihood has sore teeth and gums. They stick their tongue out to relieve pressure on the gums.

@Ninapearl - yes, we're adopting a 6 year old female Aussie - we took Grady Wednesday and we all met each other. She's still nursing her litter of pups and will come to live with us in the middle of October. She's a real sweetheart.

@seagrass_gw Cape Cod Beautiful girl! Is she a retired show dog & this is her litter after getting all her show points?

Yes - we lost our younger Aussie several months ago. We had two boys from the same breeder. She lost her husband in June and is navigating a lot of heavy life stuff including 2 different litters - she reached out to us and asked if we would adopt her.

seagrass - what a bittersweet story for both you and the woman with the Aussie. Do you have experience with adopting an adult retired show dog? I ask because my dog is a retired show girl - and she’s the first dog we have adopted as an adult. It has been quite a learning experience - the difference between a puppy and an adult coming from a very nice and safe home - not a ’rescue’.

KW - she will be our first adult adpotee and she's not a 'rescue' by any means - Kathy is sad to lose her but wants to keep her close. We're in our 70's and taking on a puppy who could easily outlive us would be irresponsible. Adele is her name, she will be our 6th Aussie. I miss having a girl. As I age, I have a hard time looking forward to much of anything but I think it will be fun to envelope her into our lives. Aussies are quirky and really smart -

We had a big black lab who was ridiculously smart. Of course he loved to fetch. If there was a group of people throwing a ball or frisbee for him, he would bring it back to whoever threw it.

But when he played with our neighbor kids - age 4 and 6 - when the girl threw the ball, he'd bring it to the boy; when he threw the ball, Jack would bring it to the girl. Every time.

When we got tired of throwing his ball when we were at my Mom's lake cabin, he would drop it off the end of the dock, wait for it to drift out a ways, then jump in after it.

In the winter, if his frisbee was on top of fluffy snow, he would dive underneath and flip it up in the air so he could catch it.

Finally, he had a great sense of humor. Our first house had small trees in the yard. Jack would "hide" behind a tree - of course we could see him on either side. But we played along, calling "Where's Jack?" He'd wag furiously for a minute, then leap out as if to say "Here I am!"

Our second Aussie had a great sense of humor and loved to play head games with us - I've neve met another dog like him.

@seagrass_gw Cape Cod Your reasons for taking an adult dog into your family are exactly the reasons we have Whisper, our Phalene Papillon. We had Ginger, the typical butterfly eared - prick ear style - Papillon for 10 years. We had to say goodbye to her when her inoperable congenital liver shunt that was discovered at 9 years old couldn’t be managed well by diet alone. She’s the dog in my icon. Papillons are extremely sociable and can be quite athletic as their agility trial champions demonstrate. Whisper was 5 when we met her. She seemed delighted to meet us and we naively assumed a seamless transition into our lives. We didn’t realize show dogs aren’t really obedience trained for ’sit’ - no sitting in ring. And, walking along side you is out - the ring walk is trotting in front of you looking back to see if you’re coming with. But she learned all that very quickly. When we got home though it was obvious she missed her home and that broke my heart a little. The difference in her demeanor with us after 3 months and then in 6 months was amazing. She is now ’my’ dog & always at my side. She’s still very social and has never met someone who wasn’t greeted like a long lost friend. But, she moves behind me if they seem to be thinking about picking her up. I’ve often wondered if she misses being around other dogs since she lived with a pack. But, we have friends with small dogs who love her but Whisper prefers to greet the people rather than the dogs. You might have a strong advantage having another doggie already in your home.

You’re right about these dogs not being rescues. We laugh when people hear the story of Whisper’s background and remark ”oh, she’s a rescue”. We assure them she isn’t - she had a great and happy life before us too but simply needed a retirement home.

Recently one morning, Pooky stood in front of the glass patio door, which means she wants to play outside in the backyard. I told her "No. You need to drink some water first." She then went to her fountain, and drank some water. What?????

Dang, that is smart!! lol

@Michele - Both my dogs came from NSAL. My son volunteered there for a bit but that would have been a couple years before Charlie. He loved the cat section - said if he were a cat there he wouldn’t want to be adopted!

Almost all of our cats (and dogs) learned to retrieve. Cats usually learned with one of those pink foam hair curlers, then a small hard very bouncy rubber ball tossed town a staircase. Some of them would chirp as they jumped on our laps with the retrieved item.