Joey & Muffin

I am so excited to interview our DOG and CAT – yes, Joey and Muffin are our June pets. Can you believe that these two are just inseparable – no fighties, just cuddles and LOVE. I think I am on to something, as I also have made friends with a kitty too – COOKIE the CAT is my new best friend and finally I have learned that no matter if we woof or purr, we all can be friends. With wags, Your Cooka

 

 

Dear Joey and Muffin, first of all – you are a cat and a dog and you are best friends? Wow – then why so many doggies and kitties fight all the time? Is there a secret you can share to be friends? 

It’s true, we are the bestest of friends! I believe the secret is knowing how to play with each other without anyone getting hurt, given our very different sizes! We’ve always played in a safe way and respected each other’s limits, so nobody gets angry. 

 

Who was first at home – Joey or Muffin? And who is the boss?

We came home just a week apart, but the first one to arrive was Muffin, and to this day she is still the queen of the house. She’s the one who spends the most time here afterall! 

 

Do you know if your names have a meaning? Muffin surely does sound very… yummmmmy.

Joey is named after one of our papas favorite shows, Friends! He is their favorite character in the show and shares some similarities with him, like his love for food and loyalty to his friends. Muffin is just inspired by her overall sweetness and puffy look! 

 

Tell us, when and where were you born.

Muffin was born on the 27th of April 2020, in Figueira da Foz, and Joey a couple months later, on the 6th of June 2020 in Torres Vedras. 

 

Which makes you what star-sign? Do you know what are the most characteristics for your sign and do you think it’s like you?

Which makes Muffin a Taurus and Joey a Gemini! Supposedly, Taurus are intelligent, dependable, hardworking, dedicated, and stubborn, and we can surely see the stubborness in Muffin! She is quite the trouble maker and has a tendency to pretend she doesn’t hear us calling her out. As for Geminis, they are know to be flexible, extroverted, and clever. Joey is definitely an extrovert, as he loves people and pets alike, and can make a friend out of anyone! 

 

 

Do you remember the moment when you met mommy/daddy for the very first time?

Muffin met papas for the first time at about one month old when they went to visit her and her siblings. She was a little nervous and meowed a lot (as she still does to this day), but quickly became comfortable after a few minutes on the lap. Joey met papas very young too, when he was just a few weeks old, but papas didn’t know which baby would be theirs yet! So they officially met when papas came to get him and he was a bit shy and a bit nervous to be leaving his birth mama behind, but slowly got to know and love his new forever home! 

 

And when you met each other? Did you fight when you first met?

Oh, that was certainly an experience! Papas came home with me, Joey, just a week after Muffin arrived. When she saw me, she got really nervous and hissed at me, which made mama really sad because she was hoping we would be best friends. We didn’t want to see mama sad, so during that day we started getting closer, still keeping a safe distance, until later that night we ended up sleeping face to face just a feet away from each other. Needless to say mama was over the moon! 

What was your first thought when you noticed that your pawrents do not have paws and do not bark and purrr or have furry skin and a tail?

Muffin was very vocal and asked a bunch of questions in the form of meows, but I’m afraid she didn’t get many answers. Joey was fearful and hesitant to leave his actual furry and tailed mother, but quickly adapted to this life of treats and belly rubs! 

 

What is your favourite place at home? And which place you don’t like at all? Do you share a space together, like a big basket?

Muffin’s favorite place is definitely her cat tree, which has a bed right on top of it for her to keep an eye on the house while resting. As for Joey, any cool spot next to papas will do, but in the warmest days you can find him sleeping on the shower floor, the freshest place in the house. We don’t really share a specific space, but you can often find us sleeping very close to each other in different spots of the house, or even cuddling together on the couch during winter days! 

 

Does mommy/daddy cook for you? If yes, is she/he a good cook? What is your favorite food?

Papas don’t really cook for us, only some extra treats to add to our kibble sometimes, like golden paste or frozen fruity mixes. Muffin’s favorite food is juicy patês, and Joey’s is either banana or tuna! 

 

 

Your parents are hoomans, but if they would be furry ones, would they be a cat or a dog?

We would have to say a mix, maybe a laid back dog, haha. They really enjoy lazy days at home, but they also love to explore and go for long walks in Nature! 

 

Would they be good doggies or kittens? Or naughty?

We believe they would be good doggies, as they just like to go about their day peacefully and try to stay away from drama. Maybe a little pushy when it comes to asking for food… 

 

What is the thing you find most strange about hoomans?

When they bring out that so called “camera” and make strange noises and jiggle things around for us to look at… what’s up with that? 

 

And what thing you like most?

Hands! The way they can get to that spot on your back you’ve been trying to reach all day… that’s the life. 

 

Does your hooman ever annoy you?

Papas annoy Joey when they make him do a bunch of tricks before the treat, and then have the audacity to break it. As for Muffin, anytime they try to give unsolicited rubs. Like, I’ll come to you if I want some rubs, ok? 

 

If you could take your pack on a holiday, where would you go? And if you only can pack 3 items in your doggie bag, what would those be?

We would love to go on a trip across Europe! Papas say there’s a lot of mountains and lakes to explore. If we went, we would definitely need to bring a ball, a pack of treats and a doggie water bottle! 

 

 

Describe mommy in 3 words. And daddy?

Mama is creative, loving and calm. Daddy is caring, goofy and protective. 

 

And yourself?

Joey is calm, silly and caring. Muffin is energetic, curious and sweet. 

 

If you could be President of the world what 3 things would you change?

If we were Presidents of the World, we would make everything pet friendly, make papas stop working so they could be with us all day and make it forbidden to break treats! 

 

Do you think about becoming a pawrent one day?

No, we’re planning on just being the big brothers to all of papas’ future four legged babies! 

 

You are our June cat & dog. Do you like Summer? If yes, what’s your favourite thing about this time of the year?

Yes, we do! Joey loves going to the beach with papas, swimming in the ocean and rolling in the sand as much as possible. Muffin doesn’t really care for any of that, but there’s nothing like a good nap, belly up towards the sun! 

 

Do you ever dress up for special occasions? Do you get scared of anything?

Yes, we have a little collection of accessories! Muffin doesn’t really care for it and wouldn’t mind it being ‘mysteriously’ destroyed, but Joey doesn’t mind wearing any bows or bandanas if it makes papas smile! As for our fears, nothing gets us running like the evil creature papas keep in the closet, the so called “vacum cleaner”. 

Thank you both💖 And now mommy

 

What is the most challenging part about being a dog & cat mom?

I would have to say the most challenging part of it is getting no days off. When you have a furr baby, you can’t just decide to spend the whole day in your pijamas, you always need to think about them and how it would affect them. However, that only makes our own lives better and healthier, so although it’s challenging sometimes, they force us to be more active and make more of our days! 

 

 

We NEED to know – how did you help Muffin a cat and Joey a dog to become such cute friends? Any advise for other pet parents?

Honestly, they are both very good babies! We only helped in the sense that we got them both as babies so they got to grow up together and get used to each other since a young age, but we never had to bother teaching them to play safely because they just understood each others limits and personal space by instinct! 

Are Joey and Muffin your first children?

We actually had a beautiful labrador named Julieta before Joey and Muffin came along. Unfortunately, she passed away at only one year old after a medical complication and left us completely heartbroken. After some time, we decided we wanted to open our hearts again and got our two furry babies and it was the best decision we could have ever made. They healed the hole in our hearts and filled us with all the love we could ever ask for! 

 

Does anyone sleep with you in the bed?

Joey usually does during Winter months, but in the Summer he just gets too hot for it! Muffin prefers to sleep in her cat tree and usually joins us for naps on the couch instead. 

 

What is the one thing that makes you laugh the most about Joey – and Muffin? Are those two ever being naughty?

We would have to say Joey probably makes us laugh the most when he gets his intense zoomies and just runs around in a very goofy way with a crazy smile on his face. Muffin makes us laugh a lot with her little mischiefs, when we call her out and she pretends not to hear and then sprints out as soon as we get up to go there. We just can’t get mad at that! 

 

Are you planning on having more ‘kids’?

Definitely, there is nothing better in the world! 

 

If you could give advise to new dog or cat parents, what would you tell them?

I would tell them to above all, be patient. Being a pet parent is amazing, but it doesn’t come without its challenges. 

 

 

What is the biggest difference of being a cat or a dog parent?

I would say being a dog parent comes with more responsibilities than being a cat parent, since most cats are a lot more independent and don’t require walks. 

 

What do you consider the biggest reward about being a dog or cat parent?

Definitely seeing the good impact you have in their lives. It makes me so happy to see them happy with the things we give them or the places we take them. They only have as much as you give them! 

 

How many nick-names do Joey and Muffin?

Oh boy, we don’t even know at this point! We kind of change them monthly haha, but some of the most popular ones are Josie, Jabba The Butt and Jackie for Joey and Choffs, Muffy and Chofinha for Muffin. 

Thank you so much. We woooof you 

 

You can follow the fun adventures of Muffin and Joey on Instagram @joeyandmuffin