So, it's a little strange around here

Winter is setting in.  We're getting near and below freezing temperatures pretty regularly and the rain is trying very hard to turn into rain.  Charlotte is spending more and more time inside.  She is hooked on the soft glacial soil* for her toilet though, I think, since she will ask to go outside, then come back a few minutes later.  We rarely find she's used her litter box.  We're not finding "presents" or "surprises", just not seeing a lot of litter box use.

Her appetite has increased enormously.  Where once she seemed to be happy with 2 small (1/4 cup) scoops a day, she wants her dish filled every time she comes in.  We're trying to find a happy medium between a happily full kitty and a fat kitty.  She also expects to be offered her "Temptations" treats every time she comes in, and really, really expects them when we tempt her inside by telling her we'll give her some.  Her taste for them really ramped up when we found the tuna flavor.  While she's eating those out of our hand Marley is feeling left out, so we "accidentally" drop one or two for him here & there while she's munching.  It's not unusual for a dog to want to eat cat food.  That's why her dish is on our dresser - one of the few places Marley can't reach.

One of Marley's favorite treats is licking the spoon after we give Charlotte her quarter can of wet food at the end of the day.  He still jumps up and tries to snatch the spoon.  He misses getting the "empty" can at the end of the four day cycle.  We used to let him have them and he'd lick out all the "good stuff", then chew on the can.  When he chewing getting pieces of aluminum out of the can.  It's a struggle to keep the can in my hand for him to lick the juices, but I can't let him have cans anymore.

Charlotte has shown she's not above eating dog food and dog treats when she's hungry.  In the last few days she's finished his kibble, eaten Milk Bone Minis off the table.  It IS unusual for a cat to eat dog food.  Cat food is higher in protein & fat than dog food, so they usually will pass it up.  Not Charlotte.

So, we have a dog that will eat cat food and a cat that will eat dog food.  And they still rough house together.  Marley treats her rougher than we'd like, but she will start a session at least every day or two.  Go figure.


*Our soil has a consistency similar to a hard wheat flour - more substantial than dust, less than sand.  It's really soft and easy to move.  And it only seems to hold water in the top quarter inch or so.  This area was once under the huge Missoula glaciers that carved the Clark Fork River all the way to Lake Pend Oreille in Idaho.