For the first time in my life since I was 5, my family has been dog-less. Two years ago and mysteriously, we lost our younger dog. My dog. We lost our older dog, his auntie,  last March.  We've always had cats and dogs at the same time, and they've always done dog-like things, while still being cats.  We were also cat-less for the first time--in forever, because my parents had cats before they had us. Not having dog or cat was double the empty feeling- not easy to explain.  No reason to go out in the back and play, or just walk around.  No reason to get up at a decent hour to feed someone with four legs...and do other things.  None of them ever made a lot of noise, but the quiet was deafening. It still is if I think too hard.

In 2007 we adopted a cat. This past July was a year since she came to us.  She's our guard cat. As independant as she is (not as a cat, just as herself), she comes when she's called, answers when you talk to her, and does some other non-cat type things.  Or at least things some people don't think cats can do, because cats--and other 4-legs--are much smarter than some 2-legs give them credit for.

This morning she was sitting in the front window, keeping her eye on things as usual.  I bent over to hug her, and her tail started twitching, and her ears went back.  At that time, I couldn't see what she was so worked up about.  Then she started growling.  Movement on the left caught my eye (same color as the fence, so hard to see), and there were two scared deer near the corner of the driveway.  She growled some more, and jumped down, running into the other room so she could see better.  She stayed there until they disappeared, hopefully going back into the wooded area behind us.  I never heard her growl like that before...it wasn't cat-like.  She sounded like a small dog.  Her job protecting us from the deer done, and her property safe (lol), she followed me into the kitchen to see if she could cute me into giving her a few pieces of cat kibble.  I looked her straight in the eye and shook my head; she wasn't going to get me that way.  This is a No Aegyo zone. 

 I gave it to her anyway. =p