Flora & Bud

Couch animals

2008-12-09T03:51:00.001-08:00

The redhead is the ladyfriend's daughter, and the other two are our cats, Bud and Flora.

Not ours, either

2008-09-12T12:19:00.001-07:00

But it looks and acts just like Bud...

Not ours

2008-09-12T09:52:00.000-07:00

While it looks like Flora, it's not.

More excessive cuteness

2008-09-11T18:46:00.001-07:00

Bud and Flora, flopped out on the bed as usual.

Bud's arrival

2008-09-08T17:12:00.000-07:00

Bud was our own stray.
The ladyfriend and Rico were out for a walk one evening in the spring when we heard, amidst the garbage cans outside a house down the block, the mewling of a kitten.
It was Bud, of course.
Rico at first was adamant that we didn't need another cat (little did he know), but the ladyfriend went home and got some cat food and a bowl.
Once he'd eaten, of course, he wouldn't leave us for a second, but preceded us, weaving back and forth to make sure we were still back there, all the way home.
At first we didn't want to expose Flora to this stray, not sure what he might be carrying, so he was supposed to spend the first night outside. By midnight, of course, we had to figure something else out, so he migrated into a large closet in the living room, with a big screen door braced in the doorway. That way the two cats could talk, which they did incessantly through the screen, but couldn't have real contact.
That lasted only until we got him to the vet, who proclaimed him non-toxic, gave him his shots, and we took him home. (The neutering we saved for another visit.)
They have been best buddies ever since.
Bud has remained as mercurial and hyper as ever, but he loves Rico (at least as long as I scratch him), and that's good enough.

Flora's arrival

2008-09-08T17:02:00.001-07:00

Rico had been home from the hospital for about six months when his friends Ivan and Meg brought over Flora on 11 September (a memorable day for those with a memory). She was a stray that had wandered into their lives, quite pregnant, and decided to have a litter of kittens in a box outside their house. The kittens were, over time, given away, but they decided that Flora needed to come to me.
Now, Rico had never had a cat; several dogs in his life, including two when he least needed them in a small house in California, but no cats. Within moments, however, we were in love.
She's gotten spayed, and fatter, but she remains as quiet and phlegmatic as ever (except when it's time to be fed, of course).
She is a good cat, and Rico is happy to have her, even if he does have to share her with the ladyfriend, who loves her, too.

Cat love

2008-09-08T10:36:00.000-07:00

Rico gets the same sort of greeting, if on a much smaller scale, from Bud when he comes home...

Knowledge learned the hard way

2008-09-08T09:43:00.000-07:00

From my friend Tex Tyner, these adages:

No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats.
Never hold a dustbuster and a cat at the same time.

Bud, asleep

2008-09-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

Bud, in his favorite sleeping spot on my desk, in spite of whatever sharp and lumpy stuff I might have in the box.

Flora, awake

2008-09-08T09:39:00.000-07:00

Flora on the living room table.

Flora & Bud, dozing in the window

2008-09-08T09:36:00.000-07:00

It's perhaps their favorite place; they can watch small delectable animals outside, lie in the sun, and make sure they can watch whatever those humans are up too (especially around meal time). They're lying here in proper order, too: Flora on the left, and Bud.

First post

2008-09-07T03:28:00.001-07:00

It would have been 'Bud & Flora' if we were using the alphabet, natural pronunciation, or relative cuteness as sorting criteria, but we're using size, weight, and arrival date in the house instead.