Tag Archives: Sam

Temptations

Posted on by

Our cats Sam and Scout relaxing in the window seat

Another change I made to the Giving of Treats is to swap out the treat I give to Scout. While she still likes the WildSide Salmon dried salmon treats, she wasn’t eating them with the same fervor so I decided to mix things up a bit. I started off with Whiskas Wild Alaskan Salmon Flavor Temptations, a little treat with a crunchy whole grain shell and a meaty treat inside. Despite the name, the first ingredient is chicken meal and the wild Alaskan salmon flavor (whatever that is) is one of the last, but Scout loves them. She’s normally a bit picky about food so it’s nice to find another treat she gets excited about.

Sam likes them too, but that’s not too surprising, Sam likes just about everything. He has gotten more tolerant of Flea Medicine Night, a monthly ritual necessitated by Scout’s flea allergy, partly with experience I suppose and partly because I started giving the cats a few treats afterward to soothe their injured souls. Now instead of hiding from me for a few hours afterward, Sam has learned it is treat time and he doesn’t even resist his treatments with the same vigor that he used to — in other words, I don’t end up bleeding anymore.

Emma is another picky eater and while she likes the wet food she gets in the mornings, and sometimes eats the dried salmon treats, I have not yet found a dried treat she will consistently eat. I picked up a couple of new Temptations flavors, Free Range Chicken and Yellow Fin Tuna, to see how they would be received. I had little doubt Sam would love them but really hoped Emma would take to them too.

On the latest flea night I assembled the three cats after their treatment, each a little irritable but each eyeing the treat bags I held in my hands. Emma didn’t like any of the treats, a disappointment but not a surprise, while Scout loved them all. The biggest surprise was Sam, who not only didn’t like the new flavors but actually spit them out!

Scout, who was learned well from her Snuggle Twin, body blocked Sam out of the way and devoured his spurned treats and Emma’s too, not a normal behavior for our gentle Queen. I guess it’s safe to say she likes these treats!

I have given her the Tuna flavor the last few days in the mornings, the first time after I handed her the last treat she swatted my empty hand with her paw. I thought it an aberration until she did it again the following morning. This morning though she just buried her head in my empty hand and rubbed her head through my fingers to capture any fleeing evanescences from the departed treats.

The Snuggliest Creature Ever to Walk the Earth

Posted on by

Our cat Sam resting on the futon

Sam and Emma came to live with us just over three years ago, Ellie just under two. Last Christmas and this, we managed to avoid adding more pets to the household, which is good because the bed is full up. Emma rarely joins us at night but when I wake up Sam, Scout, and Ellie are usually sharing the bed. And oftentimes a hedgehog.

Once they detect I’m awake, they come snuggling up for attention. Sometimes one of them will “accidentally” wake me, making me wonder if they cast lots in the darkness to see who should wake me this time. To be fair there’s no “accidentally” about it when Scout wakes me, she has always considered this to be her divine right and makes no apologies.

Sam usually snuggles up tight throughout the night. If synchronized spooning were an Olympic event we’d be gold medalists every time, we’ve perfected the art of me slowly turning over while he keeps tucked up tight against me.

This picture is of Sam in a rare non-snuggling moment.

A Camera in the Hand is Worth Two in the House

Posted on by

Our cat Sam snuggling under the covers

I woke up to little Sam peeking out from under the covers. I use my iPhone as my alarm clock so I grabbed it off the nightstand and took a quick picture before he snuggled onto my chest and the moment was gone.

While my iPhone can’t hold a candle to my Canon 7D, especially in low light, it takes a nicer picture than the 7D during those times when the iPhone is in hand and the big camera is sitting in my office.


Portland Trailblazer guard Andre Miller shoots a free throw to help seal the victory over the Los Angeles Clippers

I handed my iPhone to a stranger so they could take a picture of me shooting free throws to help seal the victory of my Portland Trail Blazers over the Los Angeles Clippers. I had never noticed it before, but I look an awful lot like Andre Miller when photographed.

Sam vs. the Garden

Posted on by

Our cat Sam beside a rose bush in our backyard

One of the previous owners of the house must have really loved this one type of bulb because they are literally planted everywhere around the house. Unfortunately that includes some places where they shouldn’t be, such as in and around my favorite rose bush (which is actually a few rose bushes planted together). While the bulbs do have a pretty flower, they also are so thick they keep the roses from drying out, leaving them susceptible to the black spot fungus which has plagued our roses.

So earlier this summer I dug out as many of the bulbs as I could from underneath these roses. I tried to avoid damaging the roses but it was slow going as many of the bulbs were up tight against their roots. Also because the thorns of these old roses are both large and malevolent.

The going got even slower when Sam came over to help. The stalks were still attached to many of the bulbs, and as I pulled a few of them up he started playing with them. So we turned it into a game, I’d drag the stalks through the grass and he’d try to catch them and knock the seed pods off. When the stalk was sufficiently flayed, I’d toss it up and he’d somersault through the air after it.

Eventually I dug up as many bulbs as I could and all of Sam’s organic cat toys were gone. I took this picture of him after our fun and games were over.