The cats

We have two cats, Beignet (pronounced Ben-yay) and Chicory. Strange names, I know, but we started this theme of naming our animals after things from New Orleans. It's worked out fine so far, but we'll have to see how long we can keep it up as we add more animals to our lives.

Ben is almost 18 years old (we say May 1 is her birthday, but we don't know for sure) - she's the tabby in front - and is starting to have the problems you see in really old cats. She's been completely healthy until now, so we've been very lucky. Of course, with an inside cat, how could she possibly get sick! (Lesson for the day - keep your cats inside, unless you really don't like them and would prefer to see them live for less than 10 years.) Her kidneys have just started to fail, which is one of the most common causes of death in old cats. So every night, I get to give her subcutaneous fluids, which means I have an IV bag hanging in my laundry room, a sharps container by the sink, and baggies full of needles. How do you explain that one if your house gets searched - "No, really officer, it's for the cat!"?

As you can see in the picture, we now have a blue tarp for a bedspread. Lovely addition to our bedroom decor, don't you think? When Ben first got sick - this started as a kidney infection that we're still trying to fight - she decided it took too long to go to the litter box, so she was peeing on our bed instead. We don't trust her to stop being lazy even though she's feeling better, so the tarp stays. What we do for our animals.

Chicory is 14 1/2 and you'd never know it to look at him. He has the most amazingly glossy black coat. He's the more outgoing of the two cats, loves to sit in people's laps and be pet. He and the dog are good buddies and will play together (more on that later), which is pretty funny since Chicory is 9 pounds and Zatarain (the New Orleans thing again) is 100 pounds and has a head the size of Chicory's entire body. When they play chase around the house, it sounds like a herd of elephants has decided to tromp down the hallway.

Now you've got a not-so-brief introduction to the Zoo Crew. There will be more to come, I assure you.