He came in like a Wrecking Ball...

Well... in recent news I no longer have a wardrobe and Loki is now on a diet.

It started on a quiet afternoon, as pet related incidences often do. The sun was shining and a gentle breeze was blowing, things were right with the world and the pets were relaxing in their customary afternoon nap, or so we thought.

Suddenly a very loud crash cut through the silence, panic griped me. "We can't be being burgled in the middle of the day can we? Oh gods where are the cats!?" Cue a sheepish Loki darting from the bedroom. "Is he hurt? No phew." I allow myself to feel relief before my brain catches up with me that a sheepish looking cat has just bolted from the sound of much destruction.

Tentatively open the now half closed door wondering what expensive thing will be broken THIS TIME...

The site that greets me can only be described as chaos, a canvas wardrobe crumpled in on itself, poles poking out like a skeleton of broken bones. Socks, cuddly toys and shirts sticking hap-hazard out of the wreckage like a very small, localised tornado hit only the wardrobe.

No chance of Narnia for me then. :(

So I need to repair a canvas wardrobe and hope that none of the poles snapped under the wrecking ball that is Loki, he is however, much to his chagrin, now on a diet to slim him down a little, though sneaking his brothers food has not helped in keeping him at a good weight.

Urg cats!

LEGS! (Akward Teen) -Pupdate

So Freya is almost 6 months old as of this Pupdate, which means she has now entered into her teenage-ish stage of growth. Much like humans large dogs tend to go through this incredibly awkward period where they don't really have full control over their rapidly lengthening limbs.   

Freya is no exception. She has been skidding and flopping and generally gangly-ing her way around in her normal nut-bar fashion. I would love to be able to get you a picture of just how mindblowingly-long this dogs legs are but she isn't still long enough to get a proper shot of them. Take my word for it her legs are huge and she hasn't quite grasped full control of them quite yet. She skids into tables, walls, the cats, doors etc. Which is sometimes funny to watch, sometimes a little scary.

Also one super noticeable thing are her Golden Retriever features starting to kick in now. She has got tufts of the long curly fur starting and her tail is forming into the object destroying nightmare that adult Golden tails are. Also facially she is growing into her adult look and she is growing beautiful, although its a little sad to see the cute give way to it, you can see she is a very good looking girl.

In terms of personality Freya is a very unique dog in the fact that she is extremely found of hugs. Most dogs don't like to be hugged at all. It isn't advisable to hug (or let your kids hug dogs) as most dogs hate them, feeling threatened by them. This dog however actively seeks out hugs and despite her ever expanding size would love nothing better than to be on your lap. She is super loving and wants to be around people all the time as close as she can get.

She is starting to get better at playing on her own but regularly asks for belly rubs. Also she is a little goofy now and then and seems to be developing a sense of humour along with her stubborn streak.

Here are a few pics of her that show her character.

We also actually managed to save one of her baby teeth, which is super rare as dogs are designed to eat them! You can see her adult teeth now and that winning 'golden smile' her breed is so famous for. I think it is a cheeky smile full of attitude! Thanks for tuning in for Pupdates, keep tuning in for more! 

The Cat-Flap Story.

So recently we have had to do some 'home improvement' owing to the fact that Freya, in all her puppy wisdom, decided that cat litter was in fact fine dining and spent a vast amount of time trying to sneak into the bathroom and stuff herself.

After much deliberation we decided the solution would be to instal a cat-flap into the bathroom door.  Which we did... Thus we spent the best part of a week trying to show the cats how it worked, poking it open from both sides and holding it up for both of them to go through. Godric kept trying to push the bottom of it as if that would lift the flap and Loki would stare at you through it until you opened it for him.

We tried food and toys, coaxing and reassurance but or efforts were in vain! Our cats really don't get the concept of a cat flap, so much of the week was also spent being butlers for their whim to enter and leave the bathroom.

What our cats do get however is holes. So we had to actually had to remove the flap itself leaving us a nice framed hole in our bathroom door so the cats can get to the litter and Freya can't. Given our cats particular personalities I have dubbed this the 'portal of perv' because for some strange reason they both seem to like watching folks on the toilet.

We are all betting Freya will get her head stuck in it at some point... Stay tuned for pictures and stories!

My cat is an asshole... (why I love Feliway)

There is no easy way to admit to yourself that your pet is a jerk, even though most cat owners know deep down that their cats are at least a percent of a jerk, I mean cats are cats right? They knock glasses of water off of sides, meow and poke you at 6am because they want food, general cat jerkiness.

So what makes Loki different from this normal level of jerk cat and pushes him into full on asshole territory?

Biting... all the damn time. Loki earned the middle name of Oni (meaning demon in Japanese) because apart from his mischief antics, like being found half way up the curtains or on the tops of high cupboards etc, he had a penchant for attacking and biting humans.

So what exactly is Feliway you may be wondering and why do I love it so much? Well to start I shall give you a link to the product on a site I use a lot to order it. Feliway is a product that calms and soothes cats via the use of cat pheromones, making it completely odorless to humans and other animals. It comes in a plug in and a spray but we tend to just use the plug in.

So why do I love it? Well Loki could almost be the poster child for this product. No really I am not joking if the makers are reading this my cat could sell your product big time! Also THANK YOU!! When the Feliway is plugged in Loki goes from angry attack cat / mrbiteyourface to the most sweet and loving cat you have ever seen. He loves kisses and cuddles and will wash your arm forever with sandpaper kisses.

When we run out, which we sadly do as this product is a tiny bit costly and generally lasts 4ish weeks so sometimes runs out before payday, we are damn near held hostage until it arrives. Day one without Feliway Loki becomes grumpy and offish which is not to bad. Day two without Feliway he starts becoming increasingly aggressive and by day three he is back to full blown asshole mode, biting people in the head and generally being horrid to Godric.

I would recommend any owner of a troubled cat to get this product because it has literally changed our lives. Loki is so much happier and affectionate, isn't territorial anymore (we had issues with him... erm... marking people as well as objects) and is just generally the cat he was meant to be. It has also worked wonders for Godric the neurotic one.

So there you have it, Loki is still a menace but a much more loving and happy menace.

I am just going to leave a link to Feliway's website here so you can check it out for yourself.

Say goodbye to loneliness, also to your privacy! (Things you need to consider when owning a pet).

For anyone that considers owning a pet they must be prepared for this fundamental truth that any pet owner will tell you, kiss goodbye to your privacy!

You see cats and dogs don't see the world the way we see it. A cat thinks nothing of bothering you on the toilet or even settling down for a cuddle, a dog thinks nothing of it either.

 As the very talented maker of this comic meme knows pets simply have no respect for personal space or decorum or boundaries or any other human nonsense like that.

You will definitely one hundred percent not be lonely, (your four legged companion will not give the opportunity for privacy enough to get lonely, except maybe rare moments when they sleep and you will be grateful when they sleep, they are nicer asleep...) instead you need to get used to a few fundamental things, the downsides if you will on owning a pet,

Things you need to put up with when owning a cat / dog:

• Home is where the pet hair sticks to everything but the pets! -No really I am not even kidding, get used to having cat hair in your morning beverage and all over the furniture and all over your clothes and pretty much everything you have ever owned. When you own cat everything is cat. The same is true for dogs. Pet hair is both a condiment and fashion statement. Some people hoover a lot and run around with lint rollers but most just get used to the inevitability of it all. 

 

• Dogs drool, cats...dribble... -Yeah you heard me! Mostly everyone in the universe is well aware that dogs slobber and drool and frankly produce a staggering amount of saliva, its become part of our shared collective knowledge of jokes, used on sitcoms regularly to get a laugh, the dog shaking drool all over expensive stuff. What you may not know is that cats also dribble, some more than others. Cats dribble for many reasons (and in some cases when no reason is present can be a sign something is wrong) most often cats dribble when they are excited and/or hungry, just like dogs. I have had many a time where Godric has been cuddly and has purred to such an extent he has dribbled into my mouth, yeah lush I know. Prepare for the saliva, love it, embrace it.

• No personal space ever! -As has been stated before pets will follow you everywhere, they will steal your sofa, your bed and generally any space for sitting or laying that you ever considered yours. The floor if they are on it suddenly will be at least 60% smaller than you remember it. Dogs at least seem to have some excuses when it comes to stealing the bed as most often they are on the large side but cats are terrible, there has a been many, a largely sleepless, night where I am curled up into as small a cube as I can psychically get while the cat is stretched across 3/4's of the bed, wondering to myself how something so tiny can take up such a large amount of space. 

• They will try to 'help' with everything. If you drop an object in this house one of two things will happen, either a cat will materialize and then endeavour to 'help' by batting said object around the room while you plead for them to stop or a dog will materialize and carry off said object with you pleading that they bring you it and drop it, chaos. They help you dress, often times by sticking their heads into your clothes as you attempt to put them on resulting in a dog with your pants on their head or a cat-headed-jumper-monster. 

In short you can expect noise, chaos, and a total lack of privacy in the pet based anarchy that will become your life.

However, its not all bad. Everything I have detailed here pales in comparison to the amount of love that your pets will give you. A pets love is utterly unquestioning, has no conditions or strings what so ever and can make your life complete. Pets are extreamly rewarding, will listen to you without ever judging you and their antics at times can be side-splitting levels of funny.

A pet can be one of the best cures ever for loneliness and I know my life is that much richer for having mine in it, the good and the bad. They teach us to be better versions of ourselves because they do think the world of you, yes even cats are incredibly loyal and love their humans despite how aloof they appear.

Its a big commitment getting a pet and you shouldn't unless you are prepared but its is well worth the downsides!