The Cat Door

Poor Sophie. She wants to play with the cats SO BAD!!! You know how cats are. They'll lie there and act like they're ignoring, while she jumps around franticly trying to get their attention. Then, Salem will stand up and raise his paw, just out of her reach, to "laugh" at her while she jumps at it. Then, he'll swish his tail to distract her...he's so sarcastic! When they've had enough of her ear-nibbling and pouncing, they put on the real torture. They go through the cat door to the garage. Sophie hasn't quite mastered the cats door yet. Either that, or she doesn't have enough behind on her yet to push the flap. Sometimes I let her out there just to offend the cats. I really don't think I can do much to offend them, except for to buy the wet cat-food for 2 weeks and stop. Haha!! It's bad enough I have to spend a fortune on the urinary tract formula, rather than plain, because of Zeus's sensitive bladder. Sometimes having pets can be almost as complicated as having children, but I feel it's worth it. I still have never seen anything funnier than watching the Soph chase her tail! Picture a short-wheel base truck, or even a VW Bug, doing donuts really fast via bouncing! She gets excited and does that when she misses me. She'll make a bee-line down the hall, lay her ears back, and run back, do a few donuts, and stand on her hind legs and hold up her front legs at me, pawing at the air. The, she'll sit down and "speak." She could be telling me every location she contaminated the floor for all I know, but she's such a doll!!! Yes, I have to follow her around with Lysol and paper towels. That's not fun, but I'm no pro at the potty training. I've been reading up on it and trying to learn a way that will be effective and not scar her for life. She's really happy playing with these gargantuan cats. I met Salem and Zeus's family when I adopted them from the same litter. I never expected these guys to be so huge. Their vet has checked them regularly, and everything is normal. She said they were just "big cats." The only "scraps" they eat is water drained from the tuna cans, which is not often. I added a picture of Biscuit here to introduce him. I would add a picture of Salem, except he and Zeus look nearly identicle in pictures. I've mentioned before how ferocious Sophie is. She barks and is as fearless as a Great Dane or Pit Bull if she feels the need to be protective! This worries me in a way....but she reminds me a little of my daughter. She is a teenager and built like the Pink Panther. Great girl! I could not have been Blessed with a better child! Haha! One night we heard a strange noise at the door. It wasn't too long after I'd been car-jacked at gun-point, so we were a little edgy. We weren't sure if it was human or animal, but we went to investigate. She told me to "hold on." So I was at the door, turning the motion light on, when she said, "OK, open it." Man! I turned around to look at her holding a shotgun, as big as she was, cocked, aimed, and ready!!! I am not even sure if I have the words to describe that moment. She was so calm, collected, and strong. I felt as if I was looking at a human being I had never seen before. Like in a movie, so many scenes flashed before my eyes. Decades of our soldiers, her age during many wars, fighting and dying for our country....for our freedom. There she was, this frail-looking child, fearless, ready for anything, to protect her mother and her family. Words can't express....and God know's I'll never be worthy of this child, nor could I ever take full credit for the way she's turning out, but I'm proud of her all the same...She can still be an aggravating teen, but I have a different respect of her. She never ceases to amaze me. It seems we learn something new every day!!