Toby the Puppy’s adaptability surely has become a sight to behold.

He now shares his North Texas house with two cats, Marlowe and Macy, who moved in with my son about three weeks ago.

While I am boasting about Toby the Puppy’s adaptability, I need to offer a word about the kitties’ own ability to adapt to a new environment. In a word, they have done just fine.

Indeed, Marlowe and I have become BFFs. If I am lying on the living coach watching TV, Marlowe will jump up, purr loudly in my ear, nuzzle my face and lick my nose. He’s a good boy.

Macy, too, is acclimating herself to her new digs.

As for Toby the Puppy, he stares them down. He rarely these days runs after them. I say “rarely,” but I cannot yet say “never.” He will give chase if the kitties are scampering down the hall and into my son’s bedroom or into our guest bathroom. Truth be told, he rarely even barks at them any longer; any noise he makes is a sort of grumble.

The kitties have made themselves at home, which is what cats do. Toby the Puppy has made it clear to them, though, that they are in his house and that they are — to underscore a point — “unwelcome residents.”

Marlowe even has decided to climb into bed with Toby and me. I have sought to shoo him away at, say, 1 in the morning. No can do. The kitty ain’t about to move. Toby the Puppy, therefore, will stay in bed for a little while, but will relocate to his nearby kennel, where he often likes to sleep anyway.

The mayhem that could have developed when they got here has not occurred. For that I am grateful for the manners that Toby the Puppy has shown.

And … I do enjoy being Marlowe’s newest BFF.

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

My new life which now features my son and two cats sharing my Princeton, Texas, home with Toby the Puppy and me continues to bring surprises.

One of them arrived this morning. It was, to say the very least, an astonishing sight to see.

My son arrived a little more than a week ago with two grown kitties, Marlowe and Macy. Marlowe is a bit skittish, while Macy has acclimated herself to life with Toby the Puppy and me in these new digs. She has discovered she can jump into bed with me at night — even with Toby snoozing next to me.

This morning, Toby was munching on breakfast. Then, suddenly, Marlowe appears, walks across the kitchen floor and sticks his face into Toby the Puppy’s dish — while my puppy was still eating! They stood there … cheek to cheek!

What did Toby do? He never flinched. He didn’t look up. He didn’t back away. He didn’t snap at Marlowe. He finished his meal as he always does.

Marlowe lost interest after about, oh, 30 seconds. He walked away. It was all good.

I had worried that Toby might bristle at the kitties’ presence in his house. Not to worry. We’re now an extended family.

Who knew?

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com

I just cannot let an incident that occurred last night go without a brief comment here.

You know about the change in my life with my son arriving from Amarillo and moving with me into my North Texas home. He brought two cats with him, Macy and Marlowe, siblings he has had since they were, well, much younger.

We have avoided a major confrontation with Toby the Puppy. The kitties have hit their stride, as has Toby the Puppy. They keep their distance from each other. All is good.

Well, about midnight I was sound asleep. Toby had slipped into his kennel, which he does on occasion.

Without warning, Macy — the female kitty — jumped onto my bed and began nuzzling me. She meowed and snuggled and wanted to be scratched, stroked. It was the first prolonged contact I had with either of them.

This went on for about an hour. So help me, I was thrilled beyond belief to have Macy warm up to me in that fashion.

Marlowe remains a bit of a work in progress. He stays away most of the time. He’ll come around, too … eventually.

But this new era of pet relationships is taking a heartwarming turn.

I just had to share …

johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com