Misha

Misha

I never really told you about our dog, Misha.  She is an 11-year-old Labrador/Border Collie mix and is very respectful of us cats.  Sometimes she has a ton of energy, other times she sleeps all day and just lounges around.  If there is snow on the ground, she gets super excited and loves to play in it.  I usually like to watch her from my perch at the window.  She's not bad...for a dog.

When I first came to live with my family, I did not like Misha at all.  She is much bigger than me and seemed unhappy to have another "fluff ball with claws," as Jen described it in dog terms.  She never growled at me or tried to hurt me, she just did not let me push her around.

Now that we've lived together for a while, we get along better, but we are not what I would call "friends."  Sometimes she irritates me and I take a swing at her.  I don't usually hit her, I just give a warning swing.  She always backs away and gives me space.  Loki lets her lick his ears, which I think is weird.  They get along really well.  DiNozzo and Misha have a strange relationship.  She likes him but seems to be a little scared of him.  I can understand that—that cat is a little crazy.

My biggest issues with Misha are food and competition for our humans' attention.  She will eat my food if I don't finish it, and now that I have the automatic feeder, I like to savor my meals.  Granted, it is a little hard for me to get all the food out since the bowl isn't that big.  I like to pull pieces out with my paws and eat them that way.  It definitely makes me feel more full and less hungry between meals.  If I leave my food unattended for a long time, Misha will eat it.  I've seen Loki do that too.  I'm a little more lenient with him since I like to eat his food.

Misha and I waiting for Loki to get full

Misha often hangs out with Jordan while we cats hang out with Jen, but sometimes I want Jordan's attention and she wants Jen's.  That works fine when we switch off, not so much when we are both trying to sit next to Jen on the couch.  Fortunately, DiNozzo has trained Misha to let cats have space, so she usually leaves.  There are times when we both lay on the couch together.  I am not crazy about this, but Jen seems to like it.

Misha trying to hide from the fireworks

Over the summer, there are often a lot of loud noises, which Jen says are fireworks.  This always scares Misha and she tries to hide in the couch pillows.  Sometimes I get scared too, but most of the time I get angry because I feel like something is threatening my family and hurting our dog.  DiNozzo usually tries to calm Misha, which is nice.  Last year we sat with Jen on her bed while there were explosions outside.  Loki never seems to mind them—I think he's partially deaf.  Or maybe he's just that brave, which could be true.  He is the toughest cat I've ever met.

DiNozzo defends us from the fireworks

Misha is the only one who gets to go outside regularly, which I don't think is really fair.  She gets to go to the park and gets to pee outside.  Jen has tried to take me to the park, but I hate my harness and don't want to walk with it on.  Misha also gets extra treats, some human food, like cheese and something called "peanut butter," and sometimes she gets these hard treats that she likes to chew on.  Sometimes they are bones, sometimes something else.  I guess we get wet cat food and she only has dry food, and we have a lot of furniture to play on, so maybe it's fair.

I'm okay with Misha for the most part, but I still don't like dogs.  Or DiNozzo.