Carolyn's Critters

Mom,
You were yelling at the TV again.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I’m sorry. That probably makes you wonder what’s going on. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yes!!! What was it all about?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I was just reacting to the news.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
You said some bad words too. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Well, it doesn’t have anything to do with you, so you don’t need to worry about it.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
We all want you to be happy.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You are so sweet!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Because if you are happy, everyone is happy.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I have to say that’s perceptive of you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Sometimes at night you get annoyed with Charlie and Winston. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You mean like last night when the two of them wouldn’t stop wrestling.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
It was a real commotion. Elsa and I don’t ever do that!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
It didn’t help that they were crashing around right on top of me. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
And on me!!!!!! They fell off the bed, smack onto me while I was sound asleep on the rug!!!!! 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You poor girl, that was a rough way to wake up. You sprang to your feet screaming.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
So I was glad when you yelled “That’s it!!! Out you go!!!” And evicted those boys.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
They didn’t care one bit. They just continued their crazy wrestling and zoomies together in the rest of the house.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
And our room was quiet and happy and snuggly with Team Girls!
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Charlie,
What on earth is going on with your Miss Mousie toy in the water bowl?
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Going on?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
A couple of days ago you walked from one end of the house to the other with a very determined look, carrying Miss Mousie by the tail. You were clearly a Cat with a Plan. You marched right past me and into the kitchen, straight to the water bowl, and dropped her in.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Yes. And?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
You did that with such deliberation! The other day when I found her in the bathroom water bowl I just assumed she just got there by accident when you were playing with her. But this was clearly planned!
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Of course it was planned.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
But why?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Does there need to be a reason?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I guess not. It just seems like an unusual behavior. It find that fascinating.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
It is?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Yes! And then yesterday I found Miss Mousie floating in the water bowl yet again. I picked her up, wrung her out, and set her up on the towel rack to dry. You came strolling in, right up to the water bowl, and stopped in your tracks. You looked around the bowl, you looked everywhere. 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Of course! I was looking for Miss Mousie.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
And that’s what’s so interesting! You clearly left her in the bowl and expected to find her there later.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I don’t know why you are having so much trouble with this. Maybe you haven’t been getting enough sleep.
Charlie

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Mom,
You called me a jerk!
Winston

Dear Winston,
It was said with love. Sometimes you’re a jerk, but hey, you’re MY jerk!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
????? So why did you call me that?
Winston

Dear Winston,
You wouldn’t leave Elsa alone.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I think she likes my game.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Dude, she doesn’t. None of us likes it. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Sometimes I’m a nice guy!
Winston

Dear Winston,
You are. You’re such a sweetie when you ask me to pick you up and carry you on my shoulder! And when you look up at me and close your eyes, that’s pure love.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
The shoulder thing is just for a minute, though.
Winston

Dear Winston,
I understand. You’ve got a short attention span. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
You called me a jerk yesterday too, and I wasn’t even chasing Elsa.
Winston

Dear Winston,
You wouldn’t stop scratching the sofa. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Scratching it feels SO GOOD!!!!!
Winston

Dear Winston,
I asked you three times to knock it off.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
But why???!!!!! When I feel that velvet under my feet I HAVE to scratch it.
Winston

Dear Winston,
We have lots of scratching options for you. There’s the pad in the bedroom, and another in the living room. And the kitchen cat tree has a terrific pole for scratching. Honey, you don’t need to destroy furniture.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I haven’t destroyed it.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Not yet.
Love, Carolyn 

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Elsa,
You’re my Techno Cat. I notice you are the first to check out my phone or laptop when I leave it out.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I love the laptop. And we all like the phone! It makes noises!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
True, I’ve noticed everyone sits up when it pings.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
We all want to know WHAT is it SAYING?????
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
I’ll bet you do! The ping means there’s a text message. That’s a short message, sort of the equivalent of a passing scritchy-scratch behind the ears.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
We all like those! 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Everyone likes a head scratch. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Sometimes Winston bats at your hand when you give him a scratch.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
He’s funny that way. He prefers a head bump with my fist.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
He doesn’t pay attention to the laptop. He just sits on the keyboard. But Charlie plays with the screen! He thinks the cursor is a bug!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You are very observant.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I spy on everyone.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You listen in, too, with those big ears of yours.
Love, Carolyn 

Dear Mum,
I like to know what’s going on.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You have the goods on all of us. You probably have it all on a spreadsheet somewhere. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Possibly.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You look really innocent but you’re a rascal at heart.
Love, Carolyn

Mum,
You are calling me a rascal???
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
It’s a compliment.
Love, Carolyn

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Hey Mom,
Rusty says a proper pack doesn’t have cats in it.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
We know he’s wrong, don’t we sweetie! His household is just one dog, two people, and no cats at all. So what does he know? 
Love, Carolyn

Mom.
Maybe we’re not supposed to have cats? Are we doing it wrong?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Don’t you worry. We have a special kind of pack.
Love Carolyn

Hey Mom,
The kind with cats?
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s the best kind, and that’s the kind we have! Rusty is probably just jealous.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
But our cats are the bossy kind.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
All cats are bossy. Each in their own way.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
Elsa isn’t. She’s very sweet.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I’ll bet she always gets her way when she wants to. Have you heard her growl and scream at Winston when he chases her under the bed?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
SHE’S the one growling????? I thought it was Winston!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Impressive, right? Under the bed she’s in charge. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Has she been beating him up????? Maybe you should referee them!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
She does sound alarming, doesn’t she!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Is it safe having so many cats in the house? I mean, I know they are smaller than me, but they act really fierce sometimes, and I can’t tell if they are serious.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Don’t you worry, babe, they’re not coming after you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I don’t know about that. They are pretty excitable. And Charlie keeps taking my bed. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
He really likes to stretch out on that thing. You should nudge him out of there. It’s your bed and he knows it.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He just stares at me.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s a cat for you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Winston tries to get in my bed WITH me. I don’t like that at all. So I have to get out.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You should just tell him to take a hike. It’s your bed. You are the boss of your bed.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He doesn’t care.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Sorry sweetie. That’s a cat for you. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
As the only dog in this house, sometimes I feel outnumbered.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
But honey, remember, the cats love you! Especially Winston! He thinks you’re his girlfriend.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I know he does. He gives me a lot of head bumps.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You are lucky to have cat friends. Even if they are bossy.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Sometimes you seem like a cat. You’re bossy.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
Well, ok. But that’s because someone has to be the Top Boss around here.
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
It used to be Puffin.
XOXO Poppy

Poppy,
Puffin was the Top Boss?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Oh yes. For sure.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy
News to me. I always thought I was.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He was very respectful to you. He called you Madame. But we all knew he was in charge.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
He definitely took charge of the schedule, and he always knew what time it was. I’ll give him that. But he’s gone now, so I guess I’m in charge. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
We all go along with that.
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Charlie,
I wish you’d leave the flowers alone. This is the third vase in two days. 
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
What flowers???
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Seriously? What flowers? The flowers you scatter all over the living room floor. And you completely shredded up one of the roses.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I was PLAYING with them!!!!!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
How is that different than shredding them?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
They fall apart really easily.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
So it’s their fault. Well, how about the water everywhere when you knock the vases over? The books there got soaked. And the water isn’t good for the table’s lovely wood finish.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Water is SO MUCH FUN!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
So that makes it ok. Cats. Basically, I can’t have flower bouquets in the house until you grow up, is that it?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
What will I play with???!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I have no doubt you’ll find all kinds of other things to get into. But I’m going to miss having my lovely flowers in the house. And that’s not all. I just found a geranium cutting on the bedroom floor.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I carried it all over the house looking for a good place to put it! 
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
It was just starting to root. Those little jars on the kitchen window sill are there for rooting cuttings. Now I’ve had to move them all out to the patio because you won’t leave them alone.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
You make such a big deal about your flowers. I think you are obsessed.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I’m obsessed? This from a guy who takes out a vase within an hour of it’s appearance.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I’m really good at this stuff.
Charlie

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Winston,
I think you have a crush on Elsa.
love, Carolyn

Mom,
She’s so fun to chase!!!! 
Winston

Dear Winston,
I can see that. But sweetie, it’s gotten to the point where it’s more like stalking. Sometimes I think that girl needs a restraining order.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I don’t know what you mean.
Winston

Dear Winston,
You are obsessed with her. You come in the room with a glint in your eye, loaded for bear. You look all around for her. And you stop to thoroughly sniff where she’s been sitting. That’s stalking.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I’m just identifying her. Sometimes I go after the wrong cat.
Winston

Dear Winston,
I’ve seen you do that. Your vision is so bad, and Charlie and Elsa look so similar. Both dressed in gray tweed with white accessories.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
They are dressed?
Winston

Dear Winston,
Sorry, I shouldn’t confuse you like that. So, I have to ask, when you chase her under the bed, what on earth are you two doing down there?
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Under the bed? We look at each other.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Just look? That explains why it gets so quiet.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Sometimes she growls.
Winston

Dear Winston,
She has a baritone growl. Such a dainty girl and such a powerful growl!
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
She sounds really scary. But after the growl she’s mostly quiet. She just stares at me.
Winston

Dear Winston,
And then you walk away. I wonder why she doesn’t just stare at you on top of the bed, instead of darting away.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Maybe she likes the game.
Winston

Dear Winston,
Maybe.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
When we’re sitting there, just staring at each other, I start to lose interest. It’s no fun when she just sits there.
Winston

Dear Winston,
I wish I could convince her to stop running in the first place.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Elsa doesn’t listen to anyone.
Winston

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Dear Elsa,
You look so elegant. Who would have guessed your background is feral!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Feral doesn’t sound very nice. 
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
It just refers to your mother’s lifestyle. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
She had a lifestyle?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Your foster mom told me the rescue group trapped you kids with your mom in a feral colony. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I remember our foster mom! Charlie and I loved her!!!!!
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
She is a wonderful foster mom. I give her credit for the two of you being so confident and affectionate. You are also lucky that you were with your actual mother until you were old enough to go off on your own. Moms are so important! Winston wasn’t as lucky. He was somehow separated from his cat mom, and had to be bottle-fed by his foster mom.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Is that why he’s sorta weird?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Honey, I think he’d have been weird anyway. That might be just how he is.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
So Charlie and I are feral?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Not any more! But you were a good daughter and listened to your mom when she told you to be wary of people. On your rescue group’s paperwork someone made the note “Resists Handling.” And even after a year you still don’t want me to pick you up. I hope that changes eventually.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
Charlie doesn’t have rules like that. And we both had the same mother.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Your brother is so laid back that I’m sure he never listened to your mother. Not one bit. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
He just wants to have a good time.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
That’s our Charlie.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
So we’re not feral any more?
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
You are still a bit skittish, and Charlie is a wild doofus, taking the house apart piece by piece. But you two are no longer feral.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mum,
I’m not crazy wild like Charlie. I’m a lady.
Love, Elsa

Dear Elsa,
Most of the time. Except when you are getting a belly rub. The wild way you writhe around and kick your feet then can only be described as downright slutty. 
Love, Carolyn 

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Hey Poppy,
Last night I heard you leave the room and move to your living room bed. I thought that was odd, so that’s why I got up to check on you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Charlie was in my bed.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
I saw that! You looked so relieved when I moved him and called you back.
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
He likes my bed. Sometimes I like to sleep on the rug for a change, and next thing I know, he’s moved into my bed!
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You need to draw the line, honey. Insist on some boundaries. That’s your bed!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
He doesn’t think of it that way.
XOXO Poppy 

Dear Poppy,
I don’t understand why you let him steal it.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I don’t know how to make him move.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You are so sweet. Well, maybe you ought to surprise him by crawling into the bed with him.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
He’d probably like that.
XOXO Poppy 

Dear Poppy,
You’re right. So, maybe bunk together!
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
I don’t like to sleep with anyone. Winston kept trying that for awhile. I had to tell him to knock it off.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
You are very popular, sweetie. 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
The cats are kinda pushy.
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
They do tend to get what they want. And Charlie really likes to stretch out on that dog bed. I’m sorry that he does that to you! 
Love, Carolyn

Dear Mom,
That’s ok. I get to go for walks, and all he can do is look out the window. 
XOXO Poppy

Dear Poppy,
That’s good way to look at it.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Yep. I win.
XOXO Poppy

– 

A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!

Hey Charlie,
You’ve been very busy working the windows. I could hardly get your attention. 
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
Were you talking to me?
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Sometimes you act like you don’t know who I am. That’s annoying.
Love, Carolyn

Mom,
I know who you are. Usually. But sometimes I’m busy.
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
And that’s when you pretend you don’t know your name.
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
I was busy!!!!! There was a VISITOR!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Ok, ok. Fair enough. That was our new resident squirrel. It must be very exciting to see one in real life, and not just a toy stuffy.
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
And he was looking right at me!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I noticed that. He saw you looking out the window, and you two made eye contact. I wonder what he thought of you.
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
We connected!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I guess you did!
Love, Carolyn

Hey Mom,
I was working the windows to watch the birds at the feeder. I didn’t expect a squirrel to show up!!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
He’s just started coming by since I put up the new feeder. He can’t believe his luck. Birds are so sloppy, they flip seeds everywhere.  
Love, Carolyn

Mom! 
We have such an exciting patio!!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
All the windows are exciting! The bedroom window doesn’t have a feeder, and no squirrel, but there are plenty of birds in those bushes.
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
So much to do!!!
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
I don’t know how you can contain yourself with all this excitement. No wonder you don’t remember your name.
Love, Carolyn

Mom!
Now I have to rush down the hall!!!!! 
Charlie

Dear Charlie,
Off to the bedroom window?
Love, Carolyn

No time. Gotta rush!!
Cha– 


A note to our readers…

Please subscribe! It’s free, and with a subscription you’ll get these weekly posts delivered right to your In Box. You’ll find the subscription link at the top of the page (If you are reading this in an email, go to https://carolynscritters.blog/ to subscribe.)  When you do, Poppy, Winston, Charlie and Elsa will all raise their paws to salute you!