A day with pets

I hadn't seen Dymphna around and about for a while, though I had seen G'Kwan, so I sought her out by virtue of reaching under my bedside table and pulling her out. Then I was worried. She had closed herself up tight in her shell, and had sunk down inside herself, from what I could see between the edges of her shell. I put her down in her water dish. She hissed, so I knew she was alive. I let her be, and a while later I heard the clanking as she climbed out of the bowl. When I checked again she was eating, and when I went to bed she had eaten most of the food, and had gone into a corner to be alone. I'm going to keep a closer eye on her. It's been so warm all summer there's no reason for her to hibernate.

Mac, our tabby, is quite a different creature. Unlike Barry, Mac likes to investigate (some might say "get his nose into") everything, yet his humans continue to foil these crucial investigations. Like today, when I wouldn't let him attack the paper as it came out of the printer. Later, I wouldn't let him climb into the stationery cabinet. There might be something dangerous (or edible) in there. When Mac is thwarted he likes to climb high places and knock things off shelves. Telling him "no" just makes him angrier. When he leapt up onto a bookshelf and started eying a nearby set of objects I did the only sensible thing: I called both boys into the back room and gave them Pounce treats and petted them. Once again, bribery saved the day. Macy's ta Mac's tail made it clear he wasn't happy, but he didn't knock anything off the shelves. Today.