Happy Gotcha Day! | Toronto Pet Photographer

Happy Gotcha Day! | Toronto Pet Photographer

Hard to believe it has been a year since we first brought Baxter home and into our lives. And now, we can’t imagine a day without him.

Even though it went by so quickly, a lot has changed in a year. First, Baxter has put on a little weight. He is still our long-legged beauty, but we are trying to watch the pounds so that he doesn’t lose his athletic shape. He does love to eat and with the changes in how we are feeding Lady Jane, he does sometimes manage to get an extra few mouthfuls of food. He is very good in that he never attempts to steal her food from her. But, once she has walked away (and Lady Jane never finishes her bowl), he will try one of two tactics. The first consists of sauntering ever-s0-casually in the direction of her bowl, as if to say, “I’m just taking a walk”, hoping that we don’t see and then he can have a bit of a feast before he is noticed. If we see him, all I have to say is no and he obediently backs off. The second is downright hilarious. He will choose this route if we are near her bowl, and he therefore knows that he will be noticed should he try his first method. In this case, he will simply take off at great speed, run by her bowl and, as he passes, dive in for one mouthful as he continues at breakneck speed around the corner. We call it drive-by eating.

Baxter has also learned our routine. He is a patient little guy and doesn’t often wake us up in the morning. However, if we sleep in a little longer than usual, I will usually feel a gentle pat on my face as if he is checking to see if I missed my alarm. He also snuggles up at night or burrows down in the covers if he wants to feel safe. I love to feel his fur against my legs and Baxter does enjoy being cuddled, snuggled, picked up and generally told that he is loved.

So, today we celebrate! One year of laughter and cuddles and fun! Crazy antics and friendship. Treats and belly rubs. And mostly, love. (Baxter will have a few extra mouthfuls tonight in honour of his Gotcha! Day!)

silver tabby on red couch natural light

 

Project 52 – In The Kitchen… | Toronto Pet Photography

Project 52 – In The Kitchen… | Toronto Pet Photography

For this week’s theme we were encouraged to capture “the kitchen” as it was our pet’s “favourite place” because they know “delicious food will be served there”.  Images of them eagerly waiting their meals were encouraged.  So, here is a behind the scenes look at how dinner is served in the Posh Pets‘ household.

As most of our blog readers would know by now, we have two cats.  Lady Jane is 16.5 years old and rules the roost. Baxter is a laid-back 3 year old who views Lady Jane as his entire world. Through this relationship, they have taught each other things. One of the pieces of knowledge that Lady Jane has imparted is that we do not drink in the kitchen. This is a tradition that began with Ripley who, in his later years, loved water. So, we ended up putting an extra bowl in the home office which brought him such joy! In fact, he would rarely drink out of the very full, very fresh water provided in a lovely bowl in the kitchen. After he passed, Lady Jane quickly took up Ripley’s legacy and pretty much only drinks from the water bowl in the office as well. She has since taught Baxter this behaviour, and we now have a water bowl in the kitchen that rarely gets used in favour of the one down the hall.

Unfortunately, Lady Jane was very recently diagnosed with renal failure. We are trying to make changes to her diet and she is reluctantly taking her medications. As a result, she has recently also decided that we rarely eat our breakfast, lunch and dinner in the kitchen. We now will consider them in the office. Given her condition and the fact that we need to ensure she gets enough calories (she has lost quite a bit of weight), we have acquiesced. So, here is Lady Jane patiently waiting for her supper to be delivered to her (not in the kitchen…see her water bowl there).

grey and white cat in long hallway with water bowl

grey and white cat waiting for dinner

Because of Lady Jane’s condition and the fact that she is a very picky eater, she is getting fed multiple times a day. Baxter, on the other hand is still being fed only at breakfast and supper. He is being a very patient, somewhat obedient boy, and he never pushes her away while she is eating. He is, however, a little confused as to when he will actually get fed. So, now when I prepare any type of kitty food in the kitchen, he tries to figure out if it is his turn as well. Which means he needs a better look at what is happening on the kitchen counter. He knows he is not allowed on the kitchen counter, so he simply hops up on the piano just outside the kitchen wall and peers around to watch me rather intently. If he sees me preparing two bowls and things generally look good, he will hop down and eat his meal (which was always just outside the kitchen anyway).

silver tabby cat looking around the corner

So, there you have it! Our kitties waiting for their dinners…none of which actually happens inside the kitchen! So, we sort of completed this weeks assignment.   😉

This is the Beautiful Beasties blog circle, so there are lots more behind the scene’s antics to be had. Please start with this link to Petlense Photography’s Lina Tay and see what goes on in her house!

Adoptables – Toronto Animal Services | Toronto Cat Photographer

Adoptables – Toronto Animal Services | Toronto Cat Photographer

This week’s visit to Toronto Animal Services included photographing a whole clowder of kitties (and a couple of cute doggies)! I have missed photographing the felines because of the on-going youth camp taking place at the shelter – they take up the usual bubble area where I set up the Posh Pets‘ camera. But, there is a little outside enclosure where quite a number of them were enjoying the summer weather.

If you are interested in bringing one of these gorgeous furry faces into your home and life, please contact Toronto Animal Services – North!

tortie cat looking through chain link fencegrey and white cat lying on benchblack schnauzer dog lying in grassgrey tabby kitten looking at cameragrey and white kitten playingbrown tabby lying in cagebrown tabby posing in sitting positionbrown tabby relaxingblack and white cat lounging on scratching postblack and white kitten looking up at camerablack cat laying on scratching postblack cat lying on groundblack cat lounging with scratching postsmiling beagle dog in woodchips and grass

Baxter – A Cat About Town…Comes Home | Exclusive Toronto Pet Photographer

Baxter – A Cat About Town…Comes Home | Exclusive Toronto Pet Photographer

If you have been following the Posh Pets’ Facebook page, you know that we have welcomed a new furry face into our life. Baxter is 2 years old and a beautiful grey tabby whom we adopted from Toronto Animal Services (North Region) on November 12, 2012. It has only been 2 weeks and yet I think we could not have chosen a better companion for our 15.5 year old Lady Jane.

cat gazing with head on bed
silver tabby on blue chair

For the benefit to those who do not know, Ripley (who was our 17+ years old orange tabby) passed away at the end of May. For the first four days, Lady Jane did nothing but sleep…I believe she was mourning the loss of the companion she had known all of her life. Together, the three of us slowly made adjustments to a new routine that did not involve Ripley. But for Lady Jane, this meant she no longer had a playmate or simply another feline creature to interact with. We, therefore, became her only source of companionship. Daily, she would holler at us to come to sit on the bed with her and would have been thrilled if we could simply nap there for hours. Of course, as much as I would have liked to some days, that simply was not practical and we came to realize that Lady Jane needed a friend.

When we discussed the possibility, my husband had two requirements: he wanted a male cat (he thought Lady Jane would accept a male more easily than a female) and he wanted him to be cuddly so that he could pick him up (as he had done with Ripley). I wanted a cat whose personality would mesh with Lady Jane’s, for I refused to put her in the position of being uncomfortable in her own home. We both agreed that whoever he was, he would be adopted from a shelter.

Fortunately, I volunteer once a week at the Toronto Animal Services and therefore see my share of kitties all looking for forever homes. But, I would return week after week with no one special having caught my eye. That was until I met Baxter (who had been given the name Horatio upon arrival at the shelter).

Baxter was in the “bubble” at the shelter which meant he interacted well with other cats. Unfortunately, his bubble mates were both females and one, in particular, was a bit of diva – she would walk up to Baxter and swat at him. So, he spent a lot of his time hiding the walls of the shelter (there is a little space just big enough for a cat to squeeze through – the timid ones will find their way in there). He also sneezed. A lot. But, when I or any other person came into the room, he would eventually come out from his hiding spot and greet them. So, he passed the first test: he was male. And the second question was answered when I picked him up and he nuzzled my neck. However, as you can imagine it is not easy to tell the personality of a cat by spending a few minutes with him, especially as Baxter seemed to have a rather difficult relationship with the females he shared the bubble with. But, I did notice that he simply retreated as opposed to becoming aggressive – I never saw a swat, heard a hiss or any other such things – and it was enough to get me thinking…perhaps he would be the one.

I returned home and told my husband about him and showed him the pictures I had taken. He agreed that he was a beautiful cat and when I told him that he liked to cuddle, we made arrangements to return that evening.

It didn’t take long. Dean picked Baxter up and cuddled him. Baxter sneezed. And I talked to him about what type of home he might come home to. Within 10 minutes, my husband said, “let’s take him home”.

beautiful eyes on a silver tabby

Many have asked how Lady Jane has adjusted to the new “man” in her life. Well, Baxter has won her over. The first evening when he arrived, he was greeted with curiosity and then low throated growls as Lady Jane told him that he was not welcome. But, he held his own for Baxter was not afraid. He simply lay down calmly at a nice distance away and ever so slowly closed his eyes. If you know anything about cat communication, that was a signal that he was not about to become an alpha cat and he was really no threat. He would yawn, turn his head away, and even showed his belly…all in an effort to make friends.

By the third day, Lady Jane was no longer growling when she saw him and Baxter and her could sleep together on our bed. I suppose that is why Baxter thought he should take their relationship to the next step – he walked up to her, sniffed her, and then kissed her! Well, he got a growl and a hiss for that (and rightly so for being so forward, so early in the relationship)!

cat relaxing on a red couch

Two weeks later, Baxter is a new man. He no longer sneezes (we think it was simply the dust from the walls) and he got a clean bill of health from our vet! Everyone who meets him wants to take him home with them and it is amazing to us how different he is from the cat we met at the shelter. The Baxter we know is full of energy and loves to play and run and jump and is not at all bothered by the fact that he still gets the odd “warning” from Lady Jane when he takes the play too far. He simply wants to be friends with all he meets – human or feline – and has a lovely personality to do so. He’s even gorgeous when he sleeps and has an innate sense to turn his head to the light to be photographed 🙂

cat sleeping on the bed

We love our boy – and love seems to be the only thing that Baxter wants. Given that Lady Jane is approximately 85 years old and Baxter is 24 years old in human years, we are so happy that things have gone so well. Lady Jane is his girl and he follows her everywhere, even waiting patiently outside the litter box while she does her business. (I’ve told him he has to learn to give her a little privacy.) As my mother says,”if at Lady Jane’s age you can get a 24 year old to be that into you without the help of surgery…well, kudos to her!”

Yes, Baxter has come home. And, it is forever.

close up of tabby cat nose