And on my left...

I thought that I might introduce you some of the others who share my house (we don't say pets anymore do we?). I love having lots of non-human types running (or mostly sleeping) around the house; especially once my son grew up and moved out. Having animal companions is much like having kids around, except they never grow up, rarely learn from their mistakes, and don't move out (except for that last time which we won't talk about right now).
I've had as many as three cats, one dog and two hamsters at one time which completely maxed out my husband and, probably, the hamsters. One morning I came downstairs to find the hamster cage open and only one of the  hamsters inside. Hamwise was a terrified little bump hidden under his bedding, but Frodo was nowhere to be found. I should mention at this point that they weren't just hamsters but dwarf hamsters--about 3 inches fully grown. Several of the throw rugs were scrunched up against the walls and the cats (remember there were three) looked tired. We looked for that hamster for two days, taking the sofa apart, going through all the closets with flashlights, even unzipping all the cushions. Nothing. We created a bucket with food in it and a little ladder going up the side and waited another day. Nothing. I gave up and started trying to decide how to move on (they're just pets, right?) I sat down at the computer to e-mail my friend my sad story (my laptop is generally on the dining table--you know, where the action is) and heard a weird noise, kind of scratchy, next to my foot.

Ready to move on? Sorry, you guessed it, it was Frodo crawling across the floor towards my foot and in perfect health! We have no idea where he had been for three days or how he survived, but there he was, looking fine, if a little dehydrated. I should also say of all the hamsters we had, Frodo lived the longest, nearly three years (Hey that's a long time for a dwarf hamster). However, after that experience with Frodo, we decided not to replace the hamsters after they "moved on." Cats and hamsters just didn't mix for us, especially since we got a younger, friskier cat after that.

The hamsters were purchased from a breeder, but the cats and the dog were all acquired either from our local animal shelter or an organizaion that rescues animals. Therefore, as mentioned in a previous entry, you don't know exactly what you are in for, and animals come to you at various ages. The cats we have adopted have been everything from eight weeks to several years old. It doesn't much matter to me, and I really think that the animal picks you out anyway. They take one look at you and think, "Nice socks. I'm going home with her!" (Again, sometimes it's a misfire. Sigh!) One of our more recent acquisitions is Angel (pictured above, looking deceptively angelic). He has been with us almost two years now. I don't have feelings one way or the other about black cats; Angel was just sitting there in his cage and asked me nicely if he could come home with me. He then climbed in my lap and declined to leave. At the time we had two other cats, so I couldn't bring his brother home with us (a deal I have with my husband, something about maximum occupancy). However, last year, when we had an opening (don't ask, if was very painful) we went back and got Raisin.

No, they're not the same cat. Look at the whiskers. Raisin is smaller and has white whiskers on his right side. See?

Angel and Raisin were rescued from a storm drain under a fast food restaurant as kittens (I know, I know). But they have a happy home now and they love being together. They especially love to race up and down the stairs at night after we have gone to bed; it sounds like a herd of elephants. You can understand why the dog hides in our room.