The Little Pack

Mornings are a special time in the Little Pack household, packed full of sweetness and celebration. IO very often greets me with nose nibbles and headrolls. These are clearly joyful acts. Once I start to stir, Jackson and IO will often begin to bark and carry on with celebration while Cheyenne races back and forth next to the bed, wiggling all the while. Archie waits at the bedroom door and purrs the moment he sees me.  Everyone races down the hallway. Baby Titten sits on the arm of the couch and burrupts as I walk by and I pat her on the head. Dixie speeds ahead into the kitchen and leaps and twirls around, woofing. She wants  a morning snack. Archie also gallops into the kitchen, bounds up onto the counter and waits by the sink for me to turn his water on. Meanwhile Jack rejoices that he found his favorite toy and asks me to throw it. Sometimes IO lingers in bed a little longer, catching a few more zzzzs before strolling out to the living room to wait for a few last bites of my breakfast.  All of this takes place while I am on autopilot, still in stupor. I am not a morning person, in fact, I can barely function when I first wake up. It occurs to me just how sweet these waking hours are, and how ironic that it all takes place while I am still too unconscious to fully treasure and savor each moment the way that I would like to.

1. I love her determination. Once her mind is made up, she will not give up. Ever. It’s not so cool when she has her mind set on my sandwich or a drink, but the determination itself is admirable.
2. She is very brave. Our little warrior kitty. When she has had enough from the dogs (and she puts up with a lot, trust me), she lashes out at whoever is tormenting her. I have seen her chase down Cheyenne on more than one occasion, and to review, Cheyenne is 40 pounds to BT’s 15. And Dixie(who is a warrior in her own right)… well, let’s just say that BT is certainly unafraid of a dog smaller than herself. I have seen Dixie running away from Baby Titten many a time, with BT giving chase and just letting her have it the whole way.
3. All of her vocalizations. Every one. The pathetic, the furious, the purrs.
4. The way she sometimes stalks me down the hallways. Usually I crack up and break the spell, but sometimes I am able to able to pretend as though I haven’t noticed what she is doing. When she finally reaches me, she doesn’t know what to do with herself, and tries to act nonchalant, but instead just awkwardly stands there looking really guilty while simultaneously trying to shrug it off, as if to say, “What? Who me? Oh, you must be mistaken. I wasn’t doing anything.”
5. She may be a fighter but she will put up with more from me than anyone else.
6. Her devotion is doglike. Especially to her string. (But to us as well).
7. She can contort her body into the smallest, most unimaginable positions to take advantage of the tiniest bit of sunshine.
8. The dark brown in her coat is the color of hot fudge, and the light brown is the color of butterscotch.
9. The way she waits for me to get out of the shower in the morning, stands right by me as I dry off, and then complains that she is getting wet. She does this to my husband also.
10. She is unapologetic for who she is. So when I think about it, she is truly a very strong female role model–yeah, yeah, say what you will–but she knows what she wants, she goes after it with an unflagging will, fights for it, and never regrets her actions. Seems to me there is plenty to admire in that. And quite honestly, I do.

1. He greets me each and every morning. And if I sleep in too long, he cries… and if I still sleep in too long he begins to knock things over. And if I still sleep too long he races sideways through the house making a “greowl” sound: half growl, half meow. OK, so most of this behavior is actually kind of obnoxious. But all of these actions are rooted in his love for me and so I just find them all the more endearing.
2. His purr-coos.
3. His soft, soft fur.
4. The way he waits for me at the screen door every single time I take the dogs out. Awww. Sweet.
5. That he likes his belly rubbed.
6. The way he sleeps on his back with all four paws in the air.
7. His little games: whether he has a mouse toy, a bottle cap, or a paper clip, we are talking about hours of endless entertainment.
8. The way he plays in the running water in the sink and the fact that he only likes the way I turn it on. He literally snubs the faucet when my husband attempts to turn on the water for him.
9. That he comes when I call him and follows me around the house like a dog.
10. His big, round eyes and his absolutely meek innocence. He embodies a sweetness that is impossible to describe.

Since his haircut, we have started calling Archie “Boots” and this picture illustrates why. At 17 pounds now, he has come a long way since the early days. As a baby, Archie personified sweetness in a little ball of fur. So tiny, with baby fine fur and the tiniest paws. He slept on my neck, and would put his little paw on my nose. Perhaps I was snoring, I don’t really understand it. The fur on his paw would tickle my nose and wake me up. This was the beginning of his “purr-coos”: purrs so loud and content, it sounds as though he is cooing.

The pack dynamic is interesting to observe. Jackson hates Cheyenne, and Baby Titten and sometimes even Archie. This has everything to do with his possessiveness and insecurity with me. Except that you will find him occasionally bathing Baby Titten. He loves IO and Dixie and will put up with almost anything from either one of them. Cheyenne lives to provoke, well, anyone, but particularly Jackson and Baby Titten. Her and Dixie are like peas in a pod but they bicker like sisters. More and more Cheyenne is getting the nerve up to challenge IO’s authority. Dixie bosses Jackson and Archie around. She mostly leaves Baby Titten alone, as Baby Titten will chase her down, and I think she is actually slightly afraid of her. Dixie tangled with IO exactly once. Archie and Baby Titten have a complicated relationship. They fight often, and yet they snuggle together often.  During times of tension—if Cheyenne is acting too big for her britches and IO begins to warn her, Jackson and Dixie will quickly begin to stand guard, at the ready to follow IO’s orders. Further, if any single one of them perceives danger, it only takes one to lead the charge, and they all come running. Cheyenne need only make a peep and Jackson is there in a heartbeat, ready to defend her, us, and the rest of the pack if necessary.  As much as they all argue and squabble with each other, at the end of the day, they are a pack and will protect each other at all costs. One time, Jack got into a scuffle with a dog next door that was literally about 3 times his size. That dog pinned him like nothing. Within moments the other 3—IO, Cheyenne and Dixie—were at his side, determined to protect him and willing to take on this horse of the dog. Even more telling, Cheyenne loves this other dog and has played with him on many occasions. But her pack is her pack and she was there for her Jack. It was a normal dog scuffle, nothing more than a tiff really, and the melee was soon broken up. But the incident shows just how deeply pack bonds go and how superficial their spats really are. It really is a bit like watching a big family interact. This living breathing organic web of love we call our little pack.