We’ve had a number of pets over the years but the last five years or so have seen an overlap of both the largest and smallest of our fur babies.

Cue the dogs.

Gracie the glorious golden was our heavyweight. At one point she tipped over 85 pounds — the vet was not pleased — but as a rule hovered around 75 pounds. Phoebe the lovely lab was closer to 65 pounds though she made up those extra pounds in fierceness. Seeing a young Gracie and Phoebe wrestle was a spirited match.

And now for the kitties.

Our littlest is the white kitty, Mia. She rang in at 6 pounds. SIX. It was insane. Boy kitty, Seven, felt seriously chunky in comparison. Full grown Mittens showed up a few years later, once Mia had passed, and she tacked an extra pound or two on top of Seven’s tally. So a wide ranging cat crew but still, altogether a small(ish) bunch.

It wasn’t until Mia showed up that I realized how very different the paw pads are on cats and dogs. Dog paws can be a bit rough or scratchy. Their pads carry them down sidewalks and streets or across trails and creek beds. They carry the marks of the world on them. But cat paw pads? Those are velvety soft, about as far from a dog paw as you can get. They come sheathed in dagger claws but otherwise, so soft.

It’s the loveliest of the yin and yang.

Linda hosts Stream of Consciousness Saturday. This week’s prompt is “pad.” Use it as a noun, use it as a verb, use it any way you’d like. Have fun!