What made you happy today?

[Jenny]

Hi everyone, 

It’s easy to get lost in the doom and gloom, from reading news, personal worries, the Summer sun slowly leaving us … that’s why I thought it’d be great to combat this by focusing, together, on the little and unexpected sources of joy we come across. 

Something unexpected like your nephew or grandchild’s giggle, an out of the blue phone call from an old friend, a smile from a stranger, or a happy guest leaving you a compliments-filled review; these things can lift our mood and make us happy. Happiness is a beautiful feeling we are all in search of but it may be closer to us than we sometimes see. 

What made you happy today? Let’s share our little moments of joy, and inspire each other to see the positives in our days!

Jenny

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Jenny 

Like @Huma0  we have a morning ritual here. Our local Stellar's Jay arrives in the oak tree next to the bedroom and calls and whistles good morning to us, with the added comment that we are sleeping in late, by bird standards. We are also reminded, in Jay language,  to check on the hummingbirds, as their caloric requirements are huge and they were up even earlier, at first light, draining the feeders. These little high performance jobs are always 15 minutes away from literally starving to death. We whistle back to that dear bird, and greet the day!

[Jenny]

That sounds absolutely delightful, @Kitty-and-Creek0, waking up to nature sounds is just the best.

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

What a lovely way to start the day. Sounds like a scene from Snow White (the Disney version)! She was quite a hard worker too and would probably make an excellent Airbnb host.

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

My day starts with purrs and cuddles from my three floofs, which makes me happy, but that's not unexpected... it's a daily morning ritual, and this is what happens if I try to have a lie in.

So, I'll have to update you later, when something unexpected happens!

[Jenny]

I love this, @Huma0! 

My Walter isn't so cuddly - which I knew when I rescued him - and he's very much his own boy.  At the moment he's enjoying the peace of the living room at night, but I'm hoping as the weather gets colder he might start sleeping on my feet again!

I love how cats have their own little personalities, no two the same!

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

It's true, no two cats are the same. Each one of mine has a different personality. 

How long have you had Walter? Perhaps he will become more cuddly with time. Merlot was a stray. In fact, the vet said he was totally feral. You couldn't get near him let alone touch him and there was a lot of constant hissing. I never would have dreamed that he would turn into such an affectionate cat. He's definitely the most needy of the three and can't get enough cuddles (although doesn't like being picked up) and is obsessed with climbing on my lap when I am trying to work. He also likes to greet new guests because he wants cuddles from everyone.

So, you never know, Walter might change over time. If not, well, no problem. Some cats are just more independent. They are certainly better than hot water bottles in the winter though. Never too hot, never cold.

[Jenny]

Totally true @Huma0 - some cats are just independent!  I think Walter is one of those, and I think he may be stuck in his ways, as he was already grown up by the time I got him.

He was between 4 and 7 when I got him in 2014, so he's anything between 12 and 15 now!  He'd been living stray for at least a couple of years when he got picked up and taken to the rescue centre, and he was there for about a year before I got him.  To this day I can never understand how nobody could want this beautiful, intelligent boy.

I was blessed with a cuddle on Saturday when he decided to come and curl up beside me in bed, he'll lie beside me and accept chin scritches and head rubs.  

Despite not being a lap cat, he's never far away, as I write this he's fast asleep on the drawers beside my desk, so I'm in good company.

Merlot sounds absolutely wonderful!

[Huma0]

@Jenny 

It sounds like Walter and Merlot have a similar story.  Merlot turned up in 2014 and the vet at the time said he was around three years old, but another vet has estimated him as older, the would make him between three and six when he adopted me.

He had also definitely been stray for a long time, perhaps all his life, but I don't believe the vet's assessment of him being completely feral because he's very far from being independent. He's very needy and, apart from the time he got lost for two weeks, never ventures too far. It sounds like Walter is very attached to you despite his independence.

Merlot is very scruffy and a bit scrappy, so there's still a bit of street cat in him.

[Sybe]

@Huma0 Okke and I have an evening ritual instead of a morning one. Whenever I go to bed, I'll put my bedroom door slightly ajar and "pspspspsps" and he'll come to wish me good night! 🥰

[Huma0]

@Sybe 

That's very sweet. It's nice to go to bed with a smile on your face as well as to wake up with one.

Pinot is the smartest of the three and has figured out how to open doors as well as being able to tell when I am heading to bed rather than going upstairs to get something. She will literally sprint up the stairs ahead of me, open my bedroom door and be already waiting for me on the bed ready for her cuddles. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Huma0 @Sybe 

Our cat Matsu was smart and quite determined. She would do these clever things and then look at us, with that "look" to make sure we had noticed. She'd claw at the edge of the screen door to open it. We put a moulding on it so she could not do that, she'd then jump up and swing on the door screen just so, and it would pop open. She also outsmarted the progressively stronger magnet latches we put on it. The look of triumph on her face was enough to break us up in laughter every time

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

They are so smart (my theory is that female cats are smarter, but that's discrimination, I know...)

When guests break house rules, it's not so funny, but when cats do, it's often hysterical. Dogs too. Hence all the YouTube videos of toilet paper strewn everywhere and a cat or dog with that "Who, me? No, I don't know anything about this..." butter-wouldn't-melt look on their face.

Then there are the clever ones like Matsu and Pinot who WANT you to know they can outsmart you. I have seen Pinot try to lift up the door latches with her paw because she has figured out that's how I do it. 

Thank goodness they don't have opposable thumbs:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IdA_fLC7WIQ

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Huma0 

We have lever door handles here, and Matsu figured out how to leap up and with her paw, pull them down to pop open those heavy solid oak 8' tall doors. She was sooooo pleased with herself! Again, laughter and applause. Just like on the video you linked, only this is a tall person's house and she had to calculate that leap perfectly. We watched her as she persisted in figuring it out. 

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

@Huma0 Thanks for sharing your cat photos - they are definitely adorable, and obviously in charge!

[Huma0]

@Kitty-and-Creek0 

Thank you! You are correct. They are in charge and they gang up on me when they don't get what they want. Right now I am surrounded by all three trying to death stare me into giving them dinner two hours early. 

[Quincy]

Hi @Jenny, such a lovely topic. I'm feeling very fortunate to be able to be with my family (As I am in the Netherlands at the moment). Just seeing everyone, and being able to laugh with each other really makes my day 😊. 

[Jenny]

That's awesome, @Quincy!

What kind of plans do you have while you're away, are you doing anything in particular, or just enjoying the quality time?

[Quincy]

Hi @Jenny, it'll be enjoying quality time 🙂