Many of you have asked how Steve and Maxwell are doing. And the answer is they are doing fine. We kept them segregated in a separate room for two weeks, allowing the dogs to get used to them, and then slowly integrated them. At this point, we have free range kitty all day, and they are given free run of the entire house and back yard. At night time, we put them in their crates, although once or twice we have let Maxwell stay out all night. They’re fine either way.
As to interactions with the dogs, it really is an example of how reacting differently to an environment can have different results. Maxwell is spastic, and for the first couple of weeks spent the entire time hiding and hissing at things and basically being a little punk. Curtis and Jack both completely ignored him, but Thurston, being an asshole, messed with him every time he got riled up.
Maxwell was/is most concerned about the bigger dog, Jack, who has had several cats and we have seen pictures of him lying down with a cat sleeping on top of him. Jack is completely uninterested. But Maxwell acts like the man is after him and freaks out a little every time he sees him. So Maxwell basically slinks and stalks his way through the house, blending into corners and moving under tables and basically mission impossibling the entire house.
Steve, on the other hand, the very first time he walked out of the quarantine room just walked between all three dogs and fucked off into the bedroom and climbed into a pile of clothes in the closet. Just sauntered right through them, completely and totally indifferent. Yesterday, within 30 seconds of each other I watched Maxwell do is highwire act to get around Jack who was creating a logjam near the hollway, and then Steve walked in, saw Jack, and just walked UNDERNEATH HIM to get through the hallway. Like didn’t even pause. Just walked right up and walked underneath him. I swear Jack nodded at him and the old dudes have some sort of aged bro code going on.
And before you ask, Thurston is still alive. He’s losing weight and his coat feels great and he is still a complete and total throbbing asshole.
Friday Morning Open Thread
Alison Rose
I wasn’t going to ask if he was still alive, but rather if you’d launched him to the moon. Good to know the answer is no. Or perhaps, ‘not yet’.
satby
Glad Steve is doing so well! Very happy I was wrong about that.
NotMax
Happy painting.
Planning to exile all pets from that room so as to avoid shedding showing up in the paint?
Tom Levenson
There is something reassuring about consistency in this ever more rapidly shifting world.
Thurston is performing a valuable service.
Elizabelle
You say Thurston is alive. But we have no proof.
And I like Steve’s swagger. Maybe he was raised around big dogs.
Baud
Glad to hear everyone is well.
NotMax
@Elizabelle
Catenfreude.
;)
Alison Rose
@NotMax: LOLOL
Villago Delenda Est
Steve is THE MAN!
Chief Oshkosh
The Throbbing Assholes. Great name for a band, Cole. Sadly, though, I think it’s more appropriately a moniker for the Republican Party.
Villago Delenda Est
@Alison Rose: Some key parts for the translunar trebuchet are on back order. Patience!
TaMara
All sounds like it’s progressing smoothly.
I LOVE watching animals blend and work out their territories. I’ll never forget Gabe coming out of his quarantine, jumping on the couch, sleeping on the cushion above Bixby, and gently stretching out his back paw onto Bixby’s back. Like, this guy right here, he’s my bud. Also, biggest guy in the room, so no one is gonna mess with me.
They slept together all the time. Damn I miss them both.
ETA: And Bixby and baby Nick and Nora, his ducklings. I’m going to go slink off now and eat some chocolate or something. That dog left a crater-size hole in my heart.
Ruckus
@Chief Oshkosh:
Likely they’d have to move up in the social hierarchy a few steps to get to Throbbing Assholes.
different-church-lady
Thanks for putting a big smile on my face.
different-church-lady
@Elizabelle: Steve is a big dog.
Almost Retired
If all those animals had internet access, I’m pretty sure Thurston is the one most likely to be a regular Balloon Juice commenter – beloved by some; pied by others.
Annie
Happy to hear the animals are doing well.
And this is OT but did not want it buried in the prior open thread; there’s an actual good article from Politico about Joe Biden’s accomplishments:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2024/02/02/joe-biden-30-policy-things-you-might-have-missed-00139046
jonas
We just got a new cat that we were hoping would bond with our current one and keep her company when we’re away at work during the day, etc. They’re getting along ok. She’s a bit rambunctious, but a total sweetheart, and is scheduled to get spayed the week after next. Unfortunately, she’s also gone into heat already and we’re dying here. She does nothing but follow us around everywhere, mewling and howling and flopping around on the floor and generally driving us (and cat nr. 1) fucking nuts. And it gets worse at night. We’ve put out a heated blanket for her, which she seems to like, and try to give her tummy rubs and play with her as much as possible, but there are only so many hours in the day and we need to sleep, too.
RevRick
So, basically what you’re saying is that Thurston and Maxwell are your MAGA critters, one a loud asshole and the other afraid of things that only exist in its mind, and that Steve is Joe Biden.
Have I got that straight?
rikyrah
Sounds wonderful, Cole.
Thanks for the update :)
CaseyL
Maxwell: The
floordog is LAVA.Steve: I go where I want; all dogs are irrelevant to me.
Very happy to hear the family is blending nicely :)
Spanky
Classic Maine Coon. Love ’em.
trollhattan
@Tom Levenson: You may well be correct. NIST evidently uses Thurston for asshole calibrations.
JustRuss
Steve was born without fux to give.
hitchhiker
Our sweet old dog is terrified of one of the cats, who is a right bitch on her good days and a complete bully the rest of the time. He will wait patiently in the hall for as long as it takes for her to get out of the doorway so he can come and lie down next to my side of the bed.
She weighs 4 pounds. He weighs 70 pounds. She wins.
Josie
Years ago, I had a gorgeous, regal calico appropriately named Macavity. She didn’t like anyone but me and would not tolerate being touched by anyone else. When I walked to the neighbor’s house to visit, she would follow me there, wait outside until the visit was over, and follow me home. She took no shit off of anyone, human or animal, large or small, and was sort of famous in our family circle. We lived out in the country and gathered around us a circle of cats and other pets of varying dispositions. The thing I most remember was Macavity coming to greet me for breakfast in the morning, and all the other hangers on falling back and giving her all the space she wanted. They never doubted her power.
TheronWare
I call my feral cats free range! Ha!
karen marie
@jonas: Oh! Oh! I recommend getting your girl a onesie to wear post spay instead of a cone. My cat used one and it was great! I put it on her twice so she’d be familiar with it before the traumatic day. The first time she was a bit put out and wouldn’t stand. The second time she was fine. I was able to keep an eye on the incision and she could navigate unimpeded. Win win!
jonas
@karen marie: Good tip! Thanks!
jonas
OT, but RIP Carl Weathers. Loved him esp as the fictional version of himself in Arrested Development where Tobias hires him as an acting coach, but the only thing he’s interested in is sharing tips on saving money.
Leto
@jonas: Just saw this; loved him in The Mandolorian where he was just hamming it up and having a good time. Good hearted scoundrel. Jeesh.
jonas
@Leto: He was a great actor all around — both in comedies as well as dramatic roles.
mrmoshpotato
LOL!
kindness
I wasn’t worried about how Thurston took to the other pups so much as how they’d take to him.
PaulWartenberg
It was 10 years ago tonight that Ocean the Wiggle Cat gave birth to a litter of six kittehs.
I kept one of her boys – Mal – and so tonight will be his official birthday (since the event happened during the 4th quarter of a Super Bowl, I unofficially celebrate it during the Super Bowl).
Raven
70 and breezy at the dog park. Artie is asleep in the sun while four young dogs raise hell!!
Alison Rose
@PaulWartenberg: Six babies, wow. The cat I’d gotten for my 5th birthday got pregnant before my mom could get her spayed. (I guess shelters didn’t automatically fix them back then, and my mom didn’t realize they could get pregnant so young.) Me already being the Cat Lady™ I am now, I wanted us to keep all of them no matter how many she had. Thankfully we (or I should say, my parents) got lucky, because she only had three kittens, one of which was solid white and we gave to a family friend whose white cat had just died. I was okay with that because she was like an aunt to me, but I insisted on keeping the other two. If she’d have five or six, I still would’ve insisted on keeping all the rest, LOL.
They were born about a month before I turned 6, and watching them being born is my earliest clear childhood memory.
sab
@satby: Me too. Our Steve lookalike Mouf is friendly towards all people, but a bully to the pets, even those three times his size.
Tasha
Ah, to go through life with Steve’s confidence!
WaterGirl
@Tasha: Steve is a mediocre white man?
daize
@TaMara:
So, so sorry about your loss. It’s just so hard. I remember your journey with Bixby’s health. And Gabe had the most soulful eyes. They were both lovely friends.
Prescott Cactus
John,
Former AZ resident for 20+ years here. . . Be careful with leaving the pets outside. Coyotes are a thing out there. They enjoy urban living and dig having a place to crash on golf courses and other open areas.
We had 2 neighbors lose small / small medium size dogs over the years. They’ll jump atop the 6 foot cinderblock and take a look inside the yard for an appetizer or dinner. .