Daisy and Beanie

Daisy’s POV

Although odd creatures, I am almost confident in my knowledge of the cat. At least once or twice a week we visit Mumma, Brother, and Daddy, and we get to spend the day running around with Mumma, Brother, the two Shih Tzus and the three cats! The two Shih Tzus, we learned, are called Sammie and Birdie.

Birdie is the tan and white Shih Tzu. She’s the one who likes to play with us! We’ll follow each other around the house and the big, green yard or we’ll play with toys together! Just the other day, we all shared a Lamb Chop toy and then fell asleep together on the rug!

Sammie, on the other hand, doesn’t like to play. She’s got the black and white fur, but she’s so old that a lot of the black has turned to grey. She’s so frail and quiet all the time, too, but I can tell she use to have a lot of spunk back in the day! She’s got a wisdom about her eyes when she looks at us. I don’t think she hates us anymore. I just think she’s tired of all the games. She just wants to be a good girl and rest.

And the cats?

Well, at first I had no idea what these funny creatures were! They’re big like Shih Tzus, but they’re more agile, and they’ve got longer legs that allow them to jump onto high places, like the sofa, the table, and the counter! Beanie and I can’t jump onto anything yet — we’re way too small! — but My Girl and Her Girl help us onto the sofa sometimes, and I like to sit over My Girl’s shoulder.

But, I almost got off track! The cats, the cats! In my limited experience, cats have soft fur that sheds, they’ve got pointed ears, and they’ve got these funny, spindly whiskers sticking out their little snouts. Some cats have long, thick fur, and some cats have shorter, thinner fur. And they come in all different colors and sizes, just like us!

We met them on our “gotcha day”, but we were never properly introduced. Now we know all about them! There’s the really skinny cat with short fur — the one with the brown, black, and orange splotched colors and markings — and her name is Patches. And then there’s the fat, tan cat with the short fur who’s named Paws. And then there’s the big, black and white cat called Whiskers. She really does have a lot of whiskers, and she’s got the longest, fluffiest fur!

Paws and Whiskers like to sit off to the side and just watch all of us young dogs play — we’ve learned by now to let them do their thing while we do ours — but Patches likes to join in with the fun! She’s just like one of us dogs! She’ll come right up to us on her dainty paws, and she’ll try to get all the attention.

Patches will flick her whiskers and tilt her head ever so carefully, and then she’ll give a short meow, asking to play. All of the cat toys from Mumma’s house are splayed around the floor for us to play with — oh, and guess what? It’s a rug!! They have a big rug!! We love rugs! — so we pass around the stuffed mice and the little balls with Patches.

Paws will sit atop the coffee table, his long paws dangling over the edges, and he’ll watch us with calm, curious eyes. Sometimes he’ll yawn, and we’ll see his very sharp teeth. Even though he’s a good cat, that alone warns us to keep our playful games away from him. Paws seems like the sort of cat who will strike when you least expect it just for a laugh. It wouldn't surprise me if he stuck out his claws just as we were passing by!

I think he likes to believe he’s the real alpha of the house… but if we’ve learned one thing about visiting Mumma it’s that the real alpha of the house is Sammie. And her faithful beta is Patches. Although quiet and calm, these old ladies run the house. They know every inch of the house and all of the rules, and they will put you in your place.

While Paws’ size and claws might look intimidating (it’s no exaggeration that he’s bigger than the Shih Tzus), one look from Patches or Sammie will have him tamed. If we get too close to Sammie, she’ll let us know with a quick bark and a little snap of the jaws, and we’ll bounce right back to Birdie to play our games.

“Here we come Lamb Chops!” we’ll bark playfully. (And, yes, that is plural Lamb Chops. We have baby Lamb Chops, big mama Lamb Chops, and miniature Lamb Chops! So many Lamb Chops!!)

Anyways, it’s the quiet ones who’ll get you. But, as long as we’re all on the same side, there’s nothing to worry about! We let Sammie have her rest and we let Patches join in our games, and everything is fun!

And it really is fun to learn about the new and different things around us! Like cats! Cats are all different. Some, like Patches, are dainty and kind, and they’re not afraid to show you who’s boss. Others, like Paws, are big and lazy and show their claws and their teeth to intimidate you but wouldn’t hurt a fly. And some are, well, some are Whiskers. While Patches is more dog-like than cat-like, Whiskers doesn’t really seem to know how to be either.

We learned that she was abandoned as a little kitten and then adopted by Mumma and her family, so she never really got to learn the proper way to be a cat. I’m not really sure there is a proper way to be a cat, but Whiskers just kind of does what she wants and drapes her long body over the furniture. Sometimes she’ll hang upside down— and, although my knowledge of the cat is limited, I’m not 100% convinced she’s not what one would call a “monkey”.

Have you ever heard of the phrase, “cats always land on their feet?” Whiskers is basically the opposite. We have heard Her Girl say quite a few times, “Whiskers is the most un-agile cat you’ll ever meet, pups.” And we are seeing that for ourselves when we visit.

Having three cats to learn from is definitely a good thing. They make our visits more exciting, even if it’s just to sit and observe their odd behaviors. And, unless they’re playing, they don’t really do much but sleep, eat, and bask in the sun. But, just like no two pups are the same, neither are two cats (or, in this case, three!). I’m glad that there are older dogs like Birdie and Sammie to learn from, too, though.

Because one thing I know for sure is: I don’t want to grow up to be a cat.