I am fortunate to not have any major health or financial problems. But minor ones add up and can be really annoying.
The tire pressure light is on in the car even though I made sure they were properly inflated and checked to make sure they are staying inflated. That means a couple hours sitting around the dealership.
A tooth has gone bad and I had going to the dentist. Its not the dental work that bothers me. It's the bite block. I have a small jaw AND I can't hold it open voluntarily. As soon as that bite block goes in, I start swallowing. Just try to swallow with your jaw wedged open!
It's January, so all the cats have to go to the vet. There goes $800... And I'll have to isolate each one to get identifiable stool samples. It's amazing how long they can go without pooping when they are enclosed alone in a room!
I had an older Mac Desktop cleaned because of fan noise a few months ago. Last week, I learned that my router is wireless-capable, so I decided to set up the desktop and move my Mac Mini to the TV room so I could visit cat blogs while watching TV. After 5 minutes the "repaired" desktop was buzzing loudly again!
But the intolerable annoyance is that my HDTV died! It had been turning itself off randomly for several days. Sometimes it came back on by itself, sometimes I had to turn it on manually. But tonight it just stopped completely.
Anyway, the Panasonic support (phone and website) is a joke! I called the number on the manual and was informed the service department was closed. Hours are 9 am to 9 pm Eastern Time. The time was 8:50 ET. WHAT? They were supposed to be open. So I went to their website find a local authorized service center. They wanted the model number and my zipcode to find service centers within 100 miles. My model number was not on the list. I manually entered the model number (checked it on both the TV and the manual). I got a message saying "no such model number". Hey, its only 6 years old! But then the message was to choose the closest model number on the list. OK. But when I entered my zipcode, it deleted the selected "close" model number! AARGGHH...
After several tries, I found a model number on the list that stayed listed when I entered my zipcode, and got a list of "servicers". One is right here in town. Good thing, too, because the next nearest is 30 miles away! Naturally, the local "servicer" has no answering service, so I will call tomorrow.
The TV is 6 years old (I was shocked when I found the receipt and discovered that - my guess was 2-3 years). If these HDTVs are anything like computers (and I suspect they are), I might just be better off buying a new one.
I LIVE with the TV. I'm home all day and it's too damn quiet. So
when I get up, I turn on the TV before I even make my morning mug of
green tea. I always look for science or nature shows first, then switch
to MSNBC for political talk (sometimes I put on science/nature DVDs and I have a 5' shelf of them).
But I have to hear some voices! Fortunately, tomorrow is Friday and I
can listen to rational talk from 10 am to 2 pm, and then science
discussion from 2 pm to 4 pm on PBS radio. That's almost as good since I
mostly listen to the TV most of the time. In fact, if I could
simply listen to cable TV channels through radios throughout the house,
that would be fine with me. There used to be radios that received the
sound from TV stations. Are there any that do that with cable TV?
I'm looking at Consumer Reports reviews of HDTVs, talking myself into buying a new bigger HDTV, aren't I?
Then I'll tackle the other issues. Like, if I am going to have a tooth pulled (which is likely), I will damn well have a working TV to watch through the several days of pain. And if I have to ignore the cats scratching and meowing at the room doors while waiting for them to poop, I will have a TV to watch cuz its too darn cold to sit outside to ignore their pleas to be let out.
UPDATE! Bought a new HDTV. 80" Sharp LCD/LED. Sharp and LCD isn't my favorite brand or type, but I really couldn't see the difference from the better plasmas and the plasmas don't come that large. If I'm buying a new one, it ought to at least knock my socks off. The only step up from 80" has to be a whole wall (probably 5 years from now).
I may go back for the sound enhancement. They showed me the sound on a regular HDTV playing a tiger roaring (from The Life of Pi). It was good. Then they showed me the same scene with the sound enhancement speakers. I JUMPED BACK and I bet every cat tail within a mile was POOFED!!! It was astonishing. But I want to see if hooking my stereo to the new TV is nearly as good. I bet it is close.
BTW, there is something called "4K" now that is way better than HDTV, I wanted to reach in and touch the person in the screen. It was "that real". But maybe next time. For what I watch, I don't need that. And it was "super-tech", which I also am not. But when this HDTV wears out, there may be even better stuff. I can wait.
Should have delivery Saturday afternoon. I can't wait.
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cats. Show all posts
Thursday, January 9, 2014
Thursday, April 25, 2013
An Informal Dinner Engagement
Megan left a comment last Thursday that included "The tribe of women who are planning to move in to enjoy your cooking now that you're Dad has moved have asked me to ask you what day next week it would suit you best for us all to arrive. Don't go to too much trouble - no need to re-decorate or anything. Just a thorough spring clean, vases of fresh flowers and a stock of chocolates will be enough. LOL".
Well, the new oven arrived last week and I have tested it out and Spring-cleaning will take a while, but I can do a decent general cleaning in a couple of days. But for planning purposes, let's say Monday 29th. I will still have some of the front yard fragrant daffodils to place in vases then.
Now as to the food: I don't often make appetizers, but I think I can manage some peeled celery stuffed with chive cream cheese and some marinated mushrooms. For the main dish, how about stir-fried shrimp and asparagus in a mild horseradish/wine sauce over herbed saffron rice, and a heart of buttercrunch lettuce salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with fresh Italian dressing?
For desserts, I have Tollhouse cookies, Lindor dark chocolate truffles, Lindor extra dark chocolate truffles, and Van Otis assorted Swiss fudge. Which to choose... Wait, we will have one of each! I hope Old Vine Zinfandel is satisfactory in the wine department. If not, I always keep some semi-dry Riesling in the wine cooler too. It off-sets the sweetness of chocolate well.
For background music, I suggest classical (Ravel, Debussy, and Prokofiev), but I also have 60s/70s Broadway musicals, Simon&Garfunkel, or Chariots of Fire and Tubular Bells if your tastes run in that direction. There is some older jazz and swing music around too.
As it will be strictly an early evening social supper, casual (but appropriate) dress is suggested. We are not formal here. Attention to the Mews is not only permitted but encouraged and a bowl of cat treats will be available for tossing to them for mutual enjoyment. Iza has offered to conduct personal Garden Tours for any guests who wish to arrive early for that purpose.
I had a personally awful experience with Canon Customer Service, so I would never buy their products again myself.
Well, the new oven arrived last week and I have tested it out and Spring-cleaning will take a while, but I can do a decent general cleaning in a couple of days. But for planning purposes, let's say Monday 29th. I will still have some of the front yard fragrant daffodils to place in vases then.
Now as to the food: I don't often make appetizers, but I think I can manage some peeled celery stuffed with chive cream cheese and some marinated mushrooms. For the main dish, how about stir-fried shrimp and asparagus in a mild horseradish/wine sauce over herbed saffron rice, and a heart of buttercrunch lettuce salad with cucumbers and cherry tomatoes with fresh Italian dressing?
For desserts, I have Tollhouse cookies, Lindor dark chocolate truffles, Lindor extra dark chocolate truffles, and Van Otis assorted Swiss fudge. Which to choose... Wait, we will have one of each! I hope Old Vine Zinfandel is satisfactory in the wine department. If not, I always keep some semi-dry Riesling in the wine cooler too. It off-sets the sweetness of chocolate well.
For background music, I suggest classical (Ravel, Debussy, and Prokofiev), but I also have 60s/70s Broadway musicals, Simon&Garfunkel, or Chariots of Fire and Tubular Bells if your tastes run in that direction. There is some older jazz and swing music around too.
As it will be strictly an early evening social supper, casual (but appropriate) dress is suggested. We are not formal here. Attention to the Mews is not only permitted but encouraged and a bowl of cat treats will be available for tossing to them for mutual enjoyment. Iza has offered to conduct personal Garden Tours for any guests who wish to arrive early for that purpose.
I had a personally awful experience with Canon Customer Service, so I would never buy their products again myself.
Monday, February 11, 2013
Its Going To Be A Long Unhappy Night
Iza and Ayla have to get their annual vet visits this time of year. They were both scheduled for them last Friday but things went wrong. I put out the PTUs (Prisoner Transport Units) or "Cat-Carriers" for those of you who don't read "cat" early in the morning.
Marley wasn't a catch, but he had just been to the vet in one, so he panicked. Iza seemed pretty relaxed. Ayla was nowhere in sight as soon as the PTUs came out. But there were hours to go...
The appointment was for 3 pm, and the vet is only 10 minutes away, so at 2:30 I picked up Iza to put her in the larger PTU. She fought harder than usual, so it took almost 10 minutes of hard grabbing and brute strength to get her inside and locked in. She complained a lot afterwards.
Ayla was nowhere to be found. If she wasn't in DEEP-HIDING just seeing the PTU, she sure was after Iza yelled a lot! I searched the house top to bottom with a flashlight under every bed, every closet, and all the hidey-holes I knew about. Apparently, she has some I don't know about. After 20 minutes, I had to give up and just take Iza to the vet.
That was bad enough, but they both needed FIV shots started because after a year of them being indoors, I relented last Fall and let them outside again. The shots have to be established 3 times (one shot every 2 weeks). Marley had just finished him series, and I was royally tired of bringing any one to the vet every 2 weeks.
Not bringing Ayla in at the same time as Iza means that they are both now on separate every-other-week schedules. The vet says they CAN allow some overlap so I can get them both on the same schedule for the future shots, but getting them BOTH into PTUs the next time may be as impossible as this time was.
I MAY have to just get used to taking them all to the vet one at a time!
Even worse is getting the stool samples for the annual exam. I was lucky with Marley. He obligingly pooped while I was in the basement in sight of the litter pans the day before his exam. No such luck with Iza or Ayla.
So when I brought Iza to the vet last Friday, no stool sample.
Tonight is different. I have enclosed Ayla in the basement with a clean litter box, food, and water, and a bed. Iza is enclosed in my bedroom with the same. Iza is in the bedroom because she demands to be near me more at night than Ayla does. Marley sleeps out on the cat trees at night until dawn. Of course, because Ayla is enclosed in the basement where the litter boxes usually are, I have a litter box at the bottom of the stairs for him.
EVERYONE is going to be upset and unhappy all night. Ayla in the basement, Iza in the bedroom, Marley not in the bedroom (and none of them able to sleep together or with me except Iza). Its all a mess but the only way I can get the stool samples identified by cat.
I can best hope that both Ayla and Iza decide to poop in their respective enclosed rooms before I go to bed. Oh happy thought. But unlikely! In the past (and I've gone through this before but not in such a complicated way) it has taken both about 12 hours before they would deign to poop after being so upset and restricted.
My elderly Dad (who lives here now) says he can't imagine why I put myself through this for just a couple of "damn cats"and all the expense). When asked him why he used to have a boat that could only be described as "a hole in the water you through money into", he said he enjoyed the boat. Well, I like my cats. And a good bit more than he liked the boat. Reminding him of all those nice weekend Summer days we spent scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat and repainting/patching it endlessly didn't get through to him at all.
But Dad complains about my aquarium, my garden, and flowerbeds, so there isn't much that makes him think effort is worthwhile except HIS favorite thing (watching golf).
BTW, when he lived on his own, he watched golf when he could on his smallish old TV. When he moved here with me, he commented that the HDTV was great. Now that he is used to it, he thingks it is a waste of money. If I dragged in an old 25" CRT TV like he used to have, he would gripe all day.
But this is about the cats, and I will not sleep well tonight knowing they are all separated from each other and 2 of them from me. I hate this...
Marley wasn't a catch, but he had just been to the vet in one, so he panicked. Iza seemed pretty relaxed. Ayla was nowhere in sight as soon as the PTUs came out. But there were hours to go...
The appointment was for 3 pm, and the vet is only 10 minutes away, so at 2:30 I picked up Iza to put her in the larger PTU. She fought harder than usual, so it took almost 10 minutes of hard grabbing and brute strength to get her inside and locked in. She complained a lot afterwards.
Ayla was nowhere to be found. If she wasn't in DEEP-HIDING just seeing the PTU, she sure was after Iza yelled a lot! I searched the house top to bottom with a flashlight under every bed, every closet, and all the hidey-holes I knew about. Apparently, she has some I don't know about. After 20 minutes, I had to give up and just take Iza to the vet.
That was bad enough, but they both needed FIV shots started because after a year of them being indoors, I relented last Fall and let them outside again. The shots have to be established 3 times (one shot every 2 weeks). Marley had just finished him series, and I was royally tired of bringing any one to the vet every 2 weeks.
Not bringing Ayla in at the same time as Iza means that they are both now on separate every-other-week schedules. The vet says they CAN allow some overlap so I can get them both on the same schedule for the future shots, but getting them BOTH into PTUs the next time may be as impossible as this time was.
I MAY have to just get used to taking them all to the vet one at a time!
Even worse is getting the stool samples for the annual exam. I was lucky with Marley. He obligingly pooped while I was in the basement in sight of the litter pans the day before his exam. No such luck with Iza or Ayla.
So when I brought Iza to the vet last Friday, no stool sample.
Tonight is different. I have enclosed Ayla in the basement with a clean litter box, food, and water, and a bed. Iza is enclosed in my bedroom with the same. Iza is in the bedroom because she demands to be near me more at night than Ayla does. Marley sleeps out on the cat trees at night until dawn. Of course, because Ayla is enclosed in the basement where the litter boxes usually are, I have a litter box at the bottom of the stairs for him.
EVERYONE is going to be upset and unhappy all night. Ayla in the basement, Iza in the bedroom, Marley not in the bedroom (and none of them able to sleep together or with me except Iza). Its all a mess but the only way I can get the stool samples identified by cat.
I can best hope that both Ayla and Iza decide to poop in their respective enclosed rooms before I go to bed. Oh happy thought. But unlikely! In the past (and I've gone through this before but not in such a complicated way) it has taken both about 12 hours before they would deign to poop after being so upset and restricted.
My elderly Dad (who lives here now) says he can't imagine why I put myself through this for just a couple of "damn cats"and all the expense). When asked him why he used to have a boat that could only be described as "a hole in the water you through money into", he said he enjoyed the boat. Well, I like my cats. And a good bit more than he liked the boat. Reminding him of all those nice weekend Summer days we spent scraping barnacles off the bottom of the boat and repainting/patching it endlessly didn't get through to him at all.
But Dad complains about my aquarium, my garden, and flowerbeds, so there isn't much that makes him think effort is worthwhile except HIS favorite thing (watching golf).
BTW, when he lived on his own, he watched golf when he could on his smallish old TV. When he moved here with me, he commented that the HDTV was great. Now that he is used to it, he thingks it is a waste of money. If I dragged in an old 25" CRT TV like he used to have, he would gripe all day.
But this is about the cats, and I will not sleep well tonight knowing they are all separated from each other and 2 of them from me. I hate this...
Monday, October 22, 2012
Dad and Cat
Dad has always claimed that he doesn't really like cats.
HAH!
I looked out the window today and Dad was on the deck looking out toward the back. Iza was sitting up on the rail right next to him. And Dad reached over to scritch her. Not "scratch", "scritch", he knows how to do it right. But by the time I got the camera, they had separated.
But the special thing was later, after dinner. Dad sat in his usual chair, and had to evict Iza from it to sit down. Iza is getting used to that routine and doesn't complain as much as she used to.
The special part is that she stood up next to him and hopped up!!! First time she has really done that, though she has made a couole of tries before.
This time she curled up on his lap. The pictures show it all. Don't mind the uneven photography; I had to try some different settings to get a few good ones. The point is that Iza curled up on Dad's lap and he enjoyed it, stroking her furs "just right".
He's a natural cat person, even if he WON'T admit it...
Super-special picture!
And Dad seemed thrilled...
And "thank you Iza". You'll get extra treats later...
I switched to non-flash so as not to disturb them.
Maybe my discussions with Dad about the wonderment of having a wild animal happy on your lap have had an affect...
Dad fell asleep stroking Iza!
HAH!
I looked out the window today and Dad was on the deck looking out toward the back. Iza was sitting up on the rail right next to him. And Dad reached over to scritch her. Not "scratch", "scritch", he knows how to do it right. But by the time I got the camera, they had separated.
But the special thing was later, after dinner. Dad sat in his usual chair, and had to evict Iza from it to sit down. Iza is getting used to that routine and doesn't complain as much as she used to.
The special part is that she stood up next to him and hopped up!!! First time she has really done that, though she has made a couole of tries before.
This time she curled up on his lap. The pictures show it all. Don't mind the uneven photography; I had to try some different settings to get a few good ones. The point is that Iza curled up on Dad's lap and he enjoyed it, stroking her furs "just right".
He's a natural cat person, even if he WON'T admit it...
Saturday, July 21, 2012
The Cat Blog Reaches 2,000 posts!
When I started the cat blog in August 2006, the few cat blogs I knew of were "old". As in, they had been blogging for a couple of years while I read in admiration. Well, after I retired in 2006, I saw a button on one cat blog that said "Click here to start a blog for free".
I clicked...
I didn't know how to write from my cats' point of view. At first, the fence was a wall, the glass deck door was a wall, the inside doors were walls, and the walls were walls. They weren't sure what to call the house, etc. I ended up "The Big Thing" only because I figured the cats weren't really sure what I was, but that I was BIG by comparison to them.
They slowly learned about the house and yard, but they never changed my name. That's OK, I always HAVE been "The Big Thing" to all the cats. It fits OK. I never quite felt like "Dad" to them. Its fine for other cats to have Mom or Dad, but I never thought that MINE thought I was their Dad.
I expect I am a bit of a mystery to them. A large rather clumsy stompy creature who has no furs worth mentioning, but who has nearly magical powers over food and litterboxes and doors to the outside.
I would love to know what they REALLY think (because they surely DO think). I don't mean they think like you and I do. There are things they will never quite be aware of, like their own mortality.
I am sometimes far too aware of theirs. Skeeter and LC started the blog, and it really didn't occur to me that they would die. Or at least, soon. I knew they were mortal, of course, but they were so healthy when I started the blog, it seemed they would be around a long time.
Skeeter died just over 2 years into blogging. It was a shock thinking back just the 2 years, but not when it happened. I knew he was dying for months. The vet told me he would be fine until he started to fall over. When he did, it was the saddest day of my life.
LC followed him in only 13 months. She was fine one night, and dead the next morning. The vet said it was a massive infection. I saw no signs of it.
LC was Skeeter's cat. Skeeter was mine. I have never had a "bad" cat, but Skeeter was special. He is my heart cat and always will be. I miss LC. She was the quiet kind of cat. Have you ever seen "The Man Who Planted Trees"? There was a dog there. Never fawning, friendly, always quiet in dignity. That was LC. She was never a lap cat, but in her last couple of days, she came up on my lap and napped there. Maybe she knew, maybe she didn't, but those were precious memories afterwards.
I have never been one to stay without cats. I don't mean, of course, that I want any to leave, but I have space in my live for several and there are so many needing space. I got Ayla shortly after Skeeter died...
All cats are good, but I had always wanted a female siamese and they are not available on most streetcorners. I looked up breeders and made a ridiculous offer. A ridiculous situation occurred. A breeder had a female too small to breed. I got Ayla for $100 because she wasn't good for breeding. But she was perfect for me.
The cost is meaningless. You spend more just in initial exams and shots. I don't actually pay any attention to initial cost anymore. Ayla was a joy. Except she kept going into heat after bein spayed (by the breeders vet). Once, then twice... For 2 years. Finally, she got an infection and MY vet found she had ladygarden parts still in there. Since then, she has been a wonderful kitty.
Iza came after Ayla and right after LC. Ayla couldn't be alone. Iza was sold as a registered siamese, but she is really a Tonkinese with siamese colors. Its obvious now that I've learned about Tonks. Iza is the stereotypical Tonk. Heavy-bodied, short-tailed, broad-chested, smudgy siamese colors, but also amazingly loyal, affectionate, and hard-playful. You should SEE her dedication to attacking toy mice!
But Ayla and Iza slowly got annoyed with each other. Not fights, but little hissy-fits, and the house was not RIGHT! I needed a cure.
It seems silly to say that because Skeeter was a calmer-down cat and he was an orange/white male cat, that another one would be the same. But I looked for one anyway. Everyone I found at cat shelters came in pairs (ONLY after I liked one of them). After that happened the third time, I ignored the shelters. I felt sorry for the cats, but what I DIDN'T want was 2 attached to each other. I needed one cat.
I found the one orange/white male cat with help from blog friends. He was promised to a family, but I convinced the owner I was the best place. When I went to pick him up, he was staring at me from the stairs. I sat down on the floor and folded my legs up, he came right down and settled on my lap.
I chose him somewhat, but HE really chose ME! The Lady was surprised, but I wasn't. I knew the moment I saw him, that he belonged with me. He was so perfect that I didn't even change his name! And coming from years of thinking hard about the right names for cats, that means something. He was indeed "Marley". He had the right name the moment I met him.
Ayla and Iza were named for characters in 'Clan of the Cave Bear" books, and I expected to name a male cat "Creb". But Marley was "Marley". Maybe there will be a Creb or Jondalar in the future, but not now. Marley is Marley, its in his genes.
And Marley has accepted the role I hoped for. He immediately came between Ayla and Iza in a calm laid-back way and the hissy-fits stopped immediately.
Its hard sometimes not to call him Skeeter. I forget. But when I do, I make sure to hold him and say Marley, Marley, Marley. I mostly remember, of course, but no one is perfect. Interestingly, that has only happened since Dad moved in. The last time Dad was here, Skeeter was here. And Dad makes me think of previous times. So at night, when Marley crawls onto the bed to nap in the early morning hours (where he sleeps in the other hours is a mystery - when I've gone looking, he just shows up awake and walking) I just keep saying "Marley, Marley, Marley" and he purrs lovingly in my arms or feet.
There will come a day when Marley goes over the Bridge. Probably 13, 14 years from now, but there WILL come that day. I wonder what Skeeter and Marley will say about me between themselves? Taht I couldn't tell them apart? Or that I thought they were BOTH the best cats ever and they were so alike that I loved them both the same at the end?
I don't know now. Ayla, Iza, and Marley are ALL wonderful cats in their own special ways. Ayla is sweet like a sugarplum. Marley is kindest most tolerant cat I've ever known. Iza is so ME-oriented it is amazing.
I loved Ralph, Sport, Ballou, Mischief, and Tinkerbelle before these. Am I just forgetting how much I loved them in favor of the current ones as the years have gone by? If I could have Ballou back again for a week, would I think, wow, "she's the best"?
I'll never know. I just wish I could have ALL of them back again. No contest, no favorites. All those old grey tabbies against all the newer fancier cats. But I DO know I would like them all back on my lap again in turns so that I could tell each one again how much I loved them. And how much they enriched my life...
I clicked...
I didn't know how to write from my cats' point of view. At first, the fence was a wall, the glass deck door was a wall, the inside doors were walls, and the walls were walls. They weren't sure what to call the house, etc. I ended up "The Big Thing" only because I figured the cats weren't really sure what I was, but that I was BIG by comparison to them.
They slowly learned about the house and yard, but they never changed my name. That's OK, I always HAVE been "The Big Thing" to all the cats. It fits OK. I never quite felt like "Dad" to them. Its fine for other cats to have Mom or Dad, but I never thought that MINE thought I was their Dad.
I expect I am a bit of a mystery to them. A large rather clumsy stompy creature who has no furs worth mentioning, but who has nearly magical powers over food and litterboxes and doors to the outside.
I would love to know what they REALLY think (because they surely DO think). I don't mean they think like you and I do. There are things they will never quite be aware of, like their own mortality.
I am sometimes far too aware of theirs. Skeeter and LC started the blog, and it really didn't occur to me that they would die. Or at least, soon. I knew they were mortal, of course, but they were so healthy when I started the blog, it seemed they would be around a long time.
Skeeter died just over 2 years into blogging. It was a shock thinking back just the 2 years, but not when it happened. I knew he was dying for months. The vet told me he would be fine until he started to fall over. When he did, it was the saddest day of my life.
LC followed him in only 13 months. She was fine one night, and dead the next morning. The vet said it was a massive infection. I saw no signs of it.
LC was Skeeter's cat. Skeeter was mine. I have never had a "bad" cat, but Skeeter was special. He is my heart cat and always will be. I miss LC. She was the quiet kind of cat. Have you ever seen "The Man Who Planted Trees"? There was a dog there. Never fawning, friendly, always quiet in dignity. That was LC. She was never a lap cat, but in her last couple of days, she came up on my lap and napped there. Maybe she knew, maybe she didn't, but those were precious memories afterwards.
I have never been one to stay without cats. I don't mean, of course, that I want any to leave, but I have space in my live for several and there are so many needing space. I got Ayla shortly after Skeeter died...
All cats are good, but I had always wanted a female siamese and they are not available on most streetcorners. I looked up breeders and made a ridiculous offer. A ridiculous situation occurred. A breeder had a female too small to breed. I got Ayla for $100 because she wasn't good for breeding. But she was perfect for me.
The cost is meaningless. You spend more just in initial exams and shots. I don't actually pay any attention to initial cost anymore. Ayla was a joy. Except she kept going into heat after bein spayed (by the breeders vet). Once, then twice... For 2 years. Finally, she got an infection and MY vet found she had ladygarden parts still in there. Since then, she has been a wonderful kitty.
Iza came after Ayla and right after LC. Ayla couldn't be alone. Iza was sold as a registered siamese, but she is really a Tonkinese with siamese colors. Its obvious now that I've learned about Tonks. Iza is the stereotypical Tonk. Heavy-bodied, short-tailed, broad-chested, smudgy siamese colors, but also amazingly loyal, affectionate, and hard-playful. You should SEE her dedication to attacking toy mice!
But Ayla and Iza slowly got annoyed with each other. Not fights, but little hissy-fits, and the house was not RIGHT! I needed a cure.
It seems silly to say that because Skeeter was a calmer-down cat and he was an orange/white male cat, that another one would be the same. But I looked for one anyway. Everyone I found at cat shelters came in pairs (ONLY after I liked one of them). After that happened the third time, I ignored the shelters. I felt sorry for the cats, but what I DIDN'T want was 2 attached to each other. I needed one cat.
I found the one orange/white male cat with help from blog friends. He was promised to a family, but I convinced the owner I was the best place. When I went to pick him up, he was staring at me from the stairs. I sat down on the floor and folded my legs up, he came right down and settled on my lap.
I chose him somewhat, but HE really chose ME! The Lady was surprised, but I wasn't. I knew the moment I saw him, that he belonged with me. He was so perfect that I didn't even change his name! And coming from years of thinking hard about the right names for cats, that means something. He was indeed "Marley". He had the right name the moment I met him.
Ayla and Iza were named for characters in 'Clan of the Cave Bear" books, and I expected to name a male cat "Creb". But Marley was "Marley". Maybe there will be a Creb or Jondalar in the future, but not now. Marley is Marley, its in his genes.
And Marley has accepted the role I hoped for. He immediately came between Ayla and Iza in a calm laid-back way and the hissy-fits stopped immediately.
Its hard sometimes not to call him Skeeter. I forget. But when I do, I make sure to hold him and say Marley, Marley, Marley. I mostly remember, of course, but no one is perfect. Interestingly, that has only happened since Dad moved in. The last time Dad was here, Skeeter was here. And Dad makes me think of previous times. So at night, when Marley crawls onto the bed to nap in the early morning hours (where he sleeps in the other hours is a mystery - when I've gone looking, he just shows up awake and walking) I just keep saying "Marley, Marley, Marley" and he purrs lovingly in my arms or feet.
There will come a day when Marley goes over the Bridge. Probably 13, 14 years from now, but there WILL come that day. I wonder what Skeeter and Marley will say about me between themselves? Taht I couldn't tell them apart? Or that I thought they were BOTH the best cats ever and they were so alike that I loved them both the same at the end?
I don't know now. Ayla, Iza, and Marley are ALL wonderful cats in their own special ways. Ayla is sweet like a sugarplum. Marley is kindest most tolerant cat I've ever known. Iza is so ME-oriented it is amazing.
I loved Ralph, Sport, Ballou, Mischief, and Tinkerbelle before these. Am I just forgetting how much I loved them in favor of the current ones as the years have gone by? If I could have Ballou back again for a week, would I think, wow, "she's the best"?
I'll never know. I just wish I could have ALL of them back again. No contest, no favorites. All those old grey tabbies against all the newer fancier cats. But I DO know I would like them all back on my lap again in turns so that I could tell each one again how much I loved them. And how much they enriched my life...
Monday, April 30, 2012
Doing Useful Stuff, 4
My back yard has a lot of mature trees, and a lot of volunteer saplings grow as a result. Vines keep growing all the time, and I am constantly fighting wild ("mock") strawberries. I deliberately left half of it "semi-wild". Well, I'm not the typical suburban yard-like-a-pool-table-top with bits of shrubs and flowers type.
So there is always SOMETHING invading the more domesticated parts of the back yard. Today, I finally got tired of the wild blackberries infesting the astilbe section of the flowerbed. No, they aren't blackberries worth eating. They are small, seedy, and hard as dry raisins.
So... I got out my poacher's shovel (a curved shovel with a blade only a few inches wide but 12" long - so named for digging up valuable wild plants with the least soilball for transport). Its a really nice tool for digging up deep-rooted weeds among close-planted desirable plants.
An hour later, I had a nice pile of brambles. I had to work at getting as much of the roots as possible without killing the astilbe and baptisia. The astilbe are well-grown, but the baptisia are just sending up shoots (they are rather like hostas shoots at emergence). I still snapped a few baptisia shoots in the process, but was relieved to discover that each of the 6 plants had at least 6 more shoots emerging.
And there is not a briar/bramble to be found in THAT section...
I rewarded myself by standing on the deck with a beer, and classical music on the radio while I contemplated what best to do tomorrow. And I admired the pile of brambles. I sure wish I could have had the cats outside with me. I miss that.
Tinkerbelle (1982? to 1999), Skeeter (1992 to 2008), and LC (1993 to 2010) were always outside with me. Tink and LC went over the fence routinely and sometimes stayed out for the night, but they always ran home in the morning. Skeeter seldom left the yard (crawled through a rabbit trench under the fence a couple of times and then hated it cuz he couldn't find his way back and would moan on the other side until I removed a fence board to give him a return point).
When Ayla stayed out several nights because of "in heat" and then Marley jumped the fence, I had to stop their outside fun. And there are owls around now at night and they didn't used to be around here.
I think I need to make the under-the-deck patio area a "catio".
So there is always SOMETHING invading the more domesticated parts of the back yard. Today, I finally got tired of the wild blackberries infesting the astilbe section of the flowerbed. No, they aren't blackberries worth eating. They are small, seedy, and hard as dry raisins.
So... I got out my poacher's shovel (a curved shovel with a blade only a few inches wide but 12" long - so named for digging up valuable wild plants with the least soilball for transport). Its a really nice tool for digging up deep-rooted weeds among close-planted desirable plants.
An hour later, I had a nice pile of brambles. I had to work at getting as much of the roots as possible without killing the astilbe and baptisia. The astilbe are well-grown, but the baptisia are just sending up shoots (they are rather like hostas shoots at emergence). I still snapped a few baptisia shoots in the process, but was relieved to discover that each of the 6 plants had at least 6 more shoots emerging.
And there is not a briar/bramble to be found in THAT section...
I rewarded myself by standing on the deck with a beer, and classical music on the radio while I contemplated what best to do tomorrow. And I admired the pile of brambles. I sure wish I could have had the cats outside with me. I miss that.
Tinkerbelle (1982? to 1999), Skeeter (1992 to 2008), and LC (1993 to 2010) were always outside with me. Tink and LC went over the fence routinely and sometimes stayed out for the night, but they always ran home in the morning. Skeeter seldom left the yard (crawled through a rabbit trench under the fence a couple of times and then hated it cuz he couldn't find his way back and would moan on the other side until I removed a fence board to give him a return point).
When Ayla stayed out several nights because of "in heat" and then Marley jumped the fence, I had to stop their outside fun. And there are owls around now at night and they didn't used to be around here.
I think I need to make the under-the-deck patio area a "catio".
Friday, July 29, 2011
Its Been A Hard Week
Well, I should summarize the week...
Sunday - Ayla suddenly started extruding pus from her vulva. I spent the afternoon and night keeping her as clean as I could.
Monday - Brought Ayla to my regular vet first thing in the morning. He did some tests to eliminate urinary infections, then did x-rays to search for a reproductive tract problem. He scheduled surgery for Tuesday.
Tuesday - Ayla was opened for exploratory surgery first thing in the morning. At noon, the vet called to say that he had found the spayed uterus remnant was infected, which led him to discover her left ovary was intact. He removed both. Considering that the breeder's vet had done both a first and a followup spay operation, he was quite surprised! I was very angry towards the breeder's vet.
Ayla (and I) have gone through frequent and lengthy heat cycles for 3 years. Most times lasting for 10 days separated by 2 weeks of calm. Occasionally, there was a whole month between heat episodes. The news that my vet had found the cause was a matter of extreme joy. I was thrilled. The $800 was well worth all the trouble.
Tuesday night I picked Ayla up to give her the antibiotic, and I discovered she was dripping with red stuff all over the incision. I assumed it was blood and brought her to an emergency pet hospital. I was there for 2 hours. The ER vet put a pressure bandage on her, did some tests, and decided she should see my regular vet in the morning.
Wednesday - My vet was upset and distressed that I had had to go through all the ER stuff. He explained that scar tissue is difficult to seal and that sometimes there is seepage. But he apologized for not having advised my of that, and I am OK with the apology. It DID cost me $1,000 at the ER hospital to learn that Ayla COULD have just lain on a thick towel all night. The ER vet COULD have told me that, but he is running a business and I DID request service. It was still pretty shoddy, though.
Anyway, my vet kept her for observation and examination all day at no charge.
Thursday - Brought Ayla back to my vet for further observation. He found the incision healing, not seeping, and he removed the IV catheter. No charge, more apology, and lots of discussion. And he gave me his home phone number in case of night time problems.
I hate the cone she has to wear, so I went out and bought an inflatable collar (XS dog collar, if you want to find one for a small cat, S for a regular size cat). Ayla doesn't mind the inflatable collar, it even seems to make a decent pillow!
Friday - Ayla is alert and walking around, eating, and drinking. She seems fine now, healing well with no "sera" seepage.
I spent the morning giving her lots of attention and scritching the itchy incision area that she can't get at with the inflatable collar. She enjoyed that a LOT!
In the afternoon, I unwound by watering the veggie and flower gardens. I have a nice system. Stab a spading fork with a "D" handle in the ground, fit a hose nozzle in the handle (most will fit one way or another), and turn the water on for 5 full minutes at each spot. Move the spade and repeat. All afternoon! Sit in a chair in the shade and drink a beer while listening to classical music on a little boom box. Very relaxing and theraputive.
It was 100+ outside, but I was sitting in the shade and there was a slight breeze. There was water spraying, birds around, etc. I NEEDED that!
Speaking of the gardens, the reason I was watering was because we are so dry here in MD. There have been rains, but brief and hard and not much for several weeks. How dry has it been? The hosta bed still has dry crunchy leaves from last Fall. They won't decompose! Too dry.
More bad news! A sign at the entrance to my neighborhood advises that electricity will be turned off for 5 hours August 1st! Oh joy... The forecast for that day is over 100 again. I see that Verizon is digging up the neighborhood for some reason, so that must be the cause.
More bad news! Have you ever used a garden hose and forgotten to turn the water off? And the hose burst? And not gone out there for 2 days? That happened to me Tuesday. I don't know exactly when the hose burst. If I am lucky, it burst just before I went out and noticed. If I am unlucky, it happened shortly after I went inside and it spewed water for 2 days. And, of course, the water was not even spewing near any of my plants... I will find out on the next quarterly bill.
More bad news! Because of Ayla's apparently finally successful spay Tuesday, I contacted a radio vet show (The Animal House). I had been a guest in June of last year discussing unsuccessfully "Twice-Spayed Ayla, and they asked for followup. So I was scheduled for a taping Wed afternoon. Well, Wed morning I had been up all night and morning, so I had to call to cancel (because I needed to collapse in bed). They didn't want to reschedule for the next week, so they are just going to read the email I sent them. I sure wish I could have been on-air to talk to them. That would have been thrilling! I guess I missed my 15 minutes of fame...
It will be broadcast in August and I will give details for that later.
I think it is finally safe to have "too much to drink tonight"! And I plan to. I just haven't decided whether it will be my favorite cheap wine (Twisted vine Zinfandel) or my own Sling recipe (1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz pomegranate liquer, a shot of real pomegranate juice, fill up the glass with ginger ale over ice, and drink through straw).
I HAVE had worse weeks, but not often, and this one ranks way up on the list. My baby sister died last Summer, Mom died last Fall, Skeeter died in Dec 2008, LC died in Jan 2010, I failed out of college in 1975 (I returned and graduated in 1993), and I got fired from a job because I couldn't roll tires off a truck fast enough. All considered, I think this week places 5th. Maybe 6th because I think at least Ayla IS finally spayed and that's good.
Sunday - Ayla suddenly started extruding pus from her vulva. I spent the afternoon and night keeping her as clean as I could.
Monday - Brought Ayla to my regular vet first thing in the morning. He did some tests to eliminate urinary infections, then did x-rays to search for a reproductive tract problem. He scheduled surgery for Tuesday.
Tuesday - Ayla was opened for exploratory surgery first thing in the morning. At noon, the vet called to say that he had found the spayed uterus remnant was infected, which led him to discover her left ovary was intact. He removed both. Considering that the breeder's vet had done both a first and a followup spay operation, he was quite surprised! I was very angry towards the breeder's vet.
Ayla (and I) have gone through frequent and lengthy heat cycles for 3 years. Most times lasting for 10 days separated by 2 weeks of calm. Occasionally, there was a whole month between heat episodes. The news that my vet had found the cause was a matter of extreme joy. I was thrilled. The $800 was well worth all the trouble.
Tuesday night I picked Ayla up to give her the antibiotic, and I discovered she was dripping with red stuff all over the incision. I assumed it was blood and brought her to an emergency pet hospital. I was there for 2 hours. The ER vet put a pressure bandage on her, did some tests, and decided she should see my regular vet in the morning.
Wednesday - My vet was upset and distressed that I had had to go through all the ER stuff. He explained that scar tissue is difficult to seal and that sometimes there is seepage. But he apologized for not having advised my of that, and I am OK with the apology. It DID cost me $1,000 at the ER hospital to learn that Ayla COULD have just lain on a thick towel all night. The ER vet COULD have told me that, but he is running a business and I DID request service. It was still pretty shoddy, though.
Anyway, my vet kept her for observation and examination all day at no charge.
Thursday - Brought Ayla back to my vet for further observation. He found the incision healing, not seeping, and he removed the IV catheter. No charge, more apology, and lots of discussion. And he gave me his home phone number in case of night time problems.
I hate the cone she has to wear, so I went out and bought an inflatable collar (XS dog collar, if you want to find one for a small cat, S for a regular size cat). Ayla doesn't mind the inflatable collar, it even seems to make a decent pillow!
Friday - Ayla is alert and walking around, eating, and drinking. She seems fine now, healing well with no "sera" seepage.
I spent the morning giving her lots of attention and scritching the itchy incision area that she can't get at with the inflatable collar. She enjoyed that a LOT!
In the afternoon, I unwound by watering the veggie and flower gardens. I have a nice system. Stab a spading fork with a "D" handle in the ground, fit a hose nozzle in the handle (most will fit one way or another), and turn the water on for 5 full minutes at each spot. Move the spade and repeat. All afternoon! Sit in a chair in the shade and drink a beer while listening to classical music on a little boom box. Very relaxing and theraputive.
It was 100+ outside, but I was sitting in the shade and there was a slight breeze. There was water spraying, birds around, etc. I NEEDED that!
Speaking of the gardens, the reason I was watering was because we are so dry here in MD. There have been rains, but brief and hard and not much for several weeks. How dry has it been? The hosta bed still has dry crunchy leaves from last Fall. They won't decompose! Too dry.
More bad news! A sign at the entrance to my neighborhood advises that electricity will be turned off for 5 hours August 1st! Oh joy... The forecast for that day is over 100 again. I see that Verizon is digging up the neighborhood for some reason, so that must be the cause.
More bad news! Have you ever used a garden hose and forgotten to turn the water off? And the hose burst? And not gone out there for 2 days? That happened to me Tuesday. I don't know exactly when the hose burst. If I am lucky, it burst just before I went out and noticed. If I am unlucky, it happened shortly after I went inside and it spewed water for 2 days. And, of course, the water was not even spewing near any of my plants... I will find out on the next quarterly bill.
More bad news! Because of Ayla's apparently finally successful spay Tuesday, I contacted a radio vet show (The Animal House). I had been a guest in June of last year discussing unsuccessfully "Twice-Spayed Ayla, and they asked for followup. So I was scheduled for a taping Wed afternoon. Well, Wed morning I had been up all night and morning, so I had to call to cancel (because I needed to collapse in bed). They didn't want to reschedule for the next week, so they are just going to read the email I sent them. I sure wish I could have been on-air to talk to them. That would have been thrilling! I guess I missed my 15 minutes of fame...
It will be broadcast in August and I will give details for that later.
I think it is finally safe to have "too much to drink tonight"! And I plan to. I just haven't decided whether it will be my favorite cheap wine (Twisted vine Zinfandel) or my own Sling recipe (1/2 oz gin, 1/2 oz pomegranate liquer, a shot of real pomegranate juice, fill up the glass with ginger ale over ice, and drink through straw).
I HAVE had worse weeks, but not often, and this one ranks way up on the list. My baby sister died last Summer, Mom died last Fall, Skeeter died in Dec 2008, LC died in Jan 2010, I failed out of college in 1975 (I returned and graduated in 1993), and I got fired from a job because I couldn't roll tires off a truck fast enough. All considered, I think this week places 5th. Maybe 6th because I think at least Ayla IS finally spayed and that's good.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Cat Fence Enclosure Idea
Well, Ayla getting over the fence is difficult enough. Today I saw Marley descending into the yard. Unfortunately, I couldn't tell if he had tried and failed or was returning to the yard. But it makes the requirement to keep them in the yard more urgent.
I've seen systems of nets attached to fences at angles, but the cost is high per foot and I have about 450 feet of 6' high backyard fence. And I have seen where smooth hard plastic sheeting is attached to the upper 2' of fencing (which I suspect works well). But that is also expensive.
So I have been pondering other, less expensive, designs. I think I have one and want opinions on it. It seems simple enough, but I haven't seen it on any "cat containment" sites. I know I can construct it (it is uncomplicated but tedious). My concerns are first, will it work, and second, is it safe.
I would provide a sketch, but my Mac doesn't seem to have a simple drawing program that can be saved in the formats demanded by Blogger. I can't figure out how to do something so simple in Photoshop, and I can't save in the required formats from Word Art, Excel Draw, or Google Layout. And Photoshop won't open those to change the format.
But it isn't complicated. There is a 6' high alternate board wood fence. I can buy vinyl coated wire mesh fence in 2'x50' rolls. I will cut the rolls into 8' lengths and bend them 90 degrees the long way. That gives an "L". One part of the "L" gets attached to the fence, the other part makes a 1' wide "ceiling". In case I'm describing it poorly, it would look something like this:
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|----------
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|
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I could bend the wire at 45 degrees upward if that improved anything. The vinyl coated wire mesh costs only $27 for 2'x50' roll, is easy for a person to bend, but pretty stiff to a cat. I've been using the stuff as plant supports and cages for years. The vinyl couating makes it quite weatherproof. I'm thinking 8' sections because that is the distance between fence posts, plus I have a couple of 8', 4"x4" posts I can use to bend it. I can attach it with a heavy duty electric staple gun.
So, I'm looking for errors, and PLEASE don't hold back. Tell me ANYTHING you think might cause a problem in construction, in safety for the cats, or safety of wildlife. Or anything else. I spent a career as a project manager where negative ideas where often the most important contributions from the team.
So, thoughts?
I've seen systems of nets attached to fences at angles, but the cost is high per foot and I have about 450 feet of 6' high backyard fence. And I have seen where smooth hard plastic sheeting is attached to the upper 2' of fencing (which I suspect works well). But that is also expensive.
So I have been pondering other, less expensive, designs. I think I have one and want opinions on it. It seems simple enough, but I haven't seen it on any "cat containment" sites. I know I can construct it (it is uncomplicated but tedious). My concerns are first, will it work, and second, is it safe.
I would provide a sketch, but my Mac doesn't seem to have a simple drawing program that can be saved in the formats demanded by Blogger. I can't figure out how to do something so simple in Photoshop, and I can't save in the required formats from Word Art, Excel Draw, or Google Layout. And Photoshop won't open those to change the format.
But it isn't complicated. There is a 6' high alternate board wood fence. I can buy vinyl coated wire mesh fence in 2'x50' rolls. I will cut the rolls into 8' lengths and bend them 90 degrees the long way. That gives an "L". One part of the "L" gets attached to the fence, the other part makes a 1' wide "ceiling". In case I'm describing it poorly, it would look something like this:
|
|----------
|
|
|
|
I could bend the wire at 45 degrees upward if that improved anything. The vinyl coated wire mesh costs only $27 for 2'x50' roll, is easy for a person to bend, but pretty stiff to a cat. I've been using the stuff as plant supports and cages for years. The vinyl couating makes it quite weatherproof. I'm thinking 8' sections because that is the distance between fence posts, plus I have a couple of 8', 4"x4" posts I can use to bend it. I can attach it with a heavy duty electric staple gun.
So, I'm looking for errors, and PLEASE don't hold back. Tell me ANYTHING you think might cause a problem in construction, in safety for the cats, or safety of wildlife. Or anything else. I spent a career as a project manager where negative ideas where often the most important contributions from the team.
So, thoughts?
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Ayla Out
I kept Ayla inside for a year. It got so difficult that I decided to experiment letting her out as long as she wanted to be out. It wasn't an easy decision. The first time, she stayed out 3 nights. But the next two times, she stayed out 2 nights. Then one night. After that, she came in the same day she was let out for several days. I consider that a good arrangement.
She stays near the fence and has no desire to wander further to the street.
But Iza complicates things. Iza and Ayla and Marley all cuddle up indoors. They eat together, They play together. Iza likes Ayla indoors.
But outdoors, Iza considers Ayla an introoder. I cannot understand this.
This afternoon, when I called Ayla inside, she came running happily. But when I opened the door for her to come inside, Iza sprang out and attacked her. As a stranger and in apparent anger. Ayla fled over the fence.
Iza does not do this with Marley when he is out.
Iza only reacts badly to Ayla when she is outside. And just as she goes outside. Something about Iza says that Ayla is an introoder when outside. It baffles me.
Iza is a bully, but only when Ayla is outside, and not when Marley is outside or Ayla is inside.
Driving me NUTS!!! What is it about Iza that she reacts badly only when Ayla is OUTSIDE? It cant be outside smells. Iza has them, Marley has them. Iza loves Marley inside and outside. But Iza hates Ayla outside.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
She stays near the fence and has no desire to wander further to the street.
But Iza complicates things. Iza and Ayla and Marley all cuddle up indoors. They eat together, They play together. Iza likes Ayla indoors.
But outdoors, Iza considers Ayla an introoder. I cannot understand this.
This afternoon, when I called Ayla inside, she came running happily. But when I opened the door for her to come inside, Iza sprang out and attacked her. As a stranger and in apparent anger. Ayla fled over the fence.
Iza does not do this with Marley when he is out.
Iza only reacts badly to Ayla when she is outside. And just as she goes outside. Something about Iza says that Ayla is an introoder when outside. It baffles me.
Iza is a bully, but only when Ayla is outside, and not when Marley is outside or Ayla is inside.
Driving me NUTS!!! What is it about Iza that she reacts badly only when Ayla is OUTSIDE? It cant be outside smells. Iza has them, Marley has them. Iza loves Marley inside and outside. But Iza hates Ayla outside.
ARRRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Some Days Are Just Good
I love productive days! It doesn't matter much what I am productive at. Some days it is gardening, and it might be planting seeds, transplanting seedlings, or weeding large areas. Some days it is building stuff indoors. Some days it is cleaning the house. Some days it is organizing things. Some days it is as basic as cleaning out the fish tanks. Or other stuff.
It matters that I keep busy in retirement. It is easy to waste time. "Tomorrow" is fine... I don't work that way. I have less time left than I did when I was 20. I don't mean to say that bothers me all that much, I stayed busy when I was 20, too. But I don't want to sit around thinking I will do things tomorrow".
I could go into great detail (and I probably will in future posts), but lately I've weeded 500 square feet of flowerbed, planted small crops (carrots, radishes, kohlrabi, leeks, etc etc), trapped a threatening groundhog and a rabbit with a taste for cucumber seedlings, cleaned out and rehabilitated an aluminum bass boat with floors, created a new plant light stand for seedlings, destructed the old light stand, drained the hot water heater of mineral sludge, cleaned the washer/dryer/dishwasher/oven, rewired several basement outlets to code, and about finished the new plant light stand (which was a real piece of work)
And then there are the cats. I love them all dearly. At least Iza and Marley come in when called. Ayla doesn't. She likes to stay out a night first before returning. So I had the idea of letting her out as long as she wanted til she was bored and preferred the food inside. Its opposite feral adoption, in a way.
After Ayla escaped out a couple weeks ago and stayed out three nights, I have let her out regularly. She stays near the fence, just won't come back in when called. The idea is that I let her out enough so that she gets bored and decides the house is good at least at night. I don't know for sure that this will work
But she stayed out 3 nights at first, 2 nights the next 2 times, and not at night today. It MAY be that enough outside time equals more inside time. She sure loves my attention! When se comes in she crawls all over we seeking my scritches and neck rubs. So it may be that, let out enough, se will b more willing to come inside again.
I HAD TO relent. She had gotten so frantic to get outside after a year confinement that she would hide behind the drapes near the deck door, stalk behind me, etc. She just couldn't be kept inside anymore. As strong as my desire was to keep her in, her desire to get out exceeded that.
It matters that I keep busy in retirement. It is easy to waste time. "Tomorrow" is fine... I don't work that way. I have less time left than I did when I was 20. I don't mean to say that bothers me all that much, I stayed busy when I was 20, too. But I don't want to sit around thinking I will do things tomorrow".
I could go into great detail (and I probably will in future posts), but lately I've weeded 500 square feet of flowerbed, planted small crops (carrots, radishes, kohlrabi, leeks, etc etc), trapped a threatening groundhog and a rabbit with a taste for cucumber seedlings, cleaned out and rehabilitated an aluminum bass boat with floors, created a new plant light stand for seedlings, destructed the old light stand, drained the hot water heater of mineral sludge, cleaned the washer/dryer/dishwasher/oven, rewired several basement outlets to code, and about finished the new plant light stand (which was a real piece of work)
And then there are the cats. I love them all dearly. At least Iza and Marley come in when called. Ayla doesn't. She likes to stay out a night first before returning. So I had the idea of letting her out as long as she wanted til she was bored and preferred the food inside. Its opposite feral adoption, in a way.
After Ayla escaped out a couple weeks ago and stayed out three nights, I have let her out regularly. She stays near the fence, just won't come back in when called. The idea is that I let her out enough so that she gets bored and decides the house is good at least at night. I don't know for sure that this will work
But she stayed out 3 nights at first, 2 nights the next 2 times, and not at night today. It MAY be that enough outside time equals more inside time. She sure loves my attention! When se comes in she crawls all over we seeking my scritches and neck rubs. So it may be that, let out enough, se will b more willing to come inside again.
I HAD TO relent. She had gotten so frantic to get outside after a year confinement that she would hide behind the drapes near the deck door, stalk behind me, etc. She just couldn't be kept inside anymore. As strong as my desire was to keep her in, her desire to get out exceeded that.
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Oops, I Completely Forgot...
...to post about the storage/cat room. I KNOW I wrote about it, so I must have deleted it somehow... Or I transported to an almost-identical alternate universe AGAIN and in THIS one I didnt post about it (This seems to happen a few times a year - LOL!). ;)
Anyway, at least I intended to (see here at Feb 16th Item 4), and I DID do the project on March 9th. So here is the missing post...
When my parents stopped traveling, I sold the guest room furniture to make it a storage room. But when I got my 3rd cat (Marley), I decided they all needed a playroom. So I decided to combine the two ideas. The long sold wall of the room would become storage and the rest a cat play room (The "Mewsroom").
I checked for the depth I needed for boxes, vacuum cleaners, the carpet cleaner, etc; located the wall studs that would accept those things. Naturally, the nearest stud was 2" too narrow, so I had to move out to the next one. That was more space than I really needed to store stuff, but I will probably appreciate it in the future (if I'm IN this dimension in the future).
So, the concept was to take about 2' of the room and hang drapes to make a storage space and make the rest of it a cat playroom. I tried to find drapery rods that could bear the weight (I have some old but nice drapes), but rods are not designed to float 2' out from the walls and I didn't want to go into the stipple ceiling for vertical support. I checked out a few other ideas at home stores. But what I ended up with was a 1" iron pipe.
Now, the iron pipe comes in 10' length and the walls were 10' 3" apart. Pipe couplings only add 1/2". So I thought about that. The 2 ideas I came up with were"
1. Attach 1.5" boards to the walls (1.5 plus 1.5 makes up the 3"), or
2. Hang the pipe from 3" corner braces
If I had used the boards, I would have have to fancy them up. Plane them to size, sand them, chamfer corners, stain and finish them, etc. I just didn't feel like doing all that. Maybe I will next year. I went with just hanging the pipe on corner braces. Hey, I had other things to do, and the gardening projects can't be delayed at this time of year!
So, there I was deciding to hang drapes from a 1" pipe. I decided that wouldn't work. Drapery hooks don't slide over pipes. But shower curtain rings do! Which gave me a further idea. Why not get some nice light outer shower curtains?
I attached the corner braces to the stud. The board was there to hold the other end of the pipe. I couldn't be at both ends.
When I maneuvered the pipe onto both braces, there was enough movement for the pipe to slip off one.
So I added wood blocks on both to keep the pipe from moving. I'll screw the wood in place one of these days...
Here is a clear picture of the shower curtain pattern. Not to plain, not too busy, not too cute.
And the closet is looking better.
The lamp will be hung up soon.
Games I love, using some freed-up space!
Here are a few pictures of what I wanted to hide behind the curtains...
Here are some of what it looked like afterwards...
That cats loved the changes...
Isn't that a nice curtain to hide stuff behind?
Anyway, at least I intended to (see here at Feb 16th Item 4), and I DID do the project on March 9th. So here is the missing post...
When my parents stopped traveling, I sold the guest room furniture to make it a storage room. But when I got my 3rd cat (Marley), I decided they all needed a playroom. So I decided to combine the two ideas. The long sold wall of the room would become storage and the rest a cat play room (The "Mewsroom").
I checked for the depth I needed for boxes, vacuum cleaners, the carpet cleaner, etc; located the wall studs that would accept those things. Naturally, the nearest stud was 2" too narrow, so I had to move out to the next one. That was more space than I really needed to store stuff, but I will probably appreciate it in the future (if I'm IN this dimension in the future).
So, the concept was to take about 2' of the room and hang drapes to make a storage space and make the rest of it a cat playroom. I tried to find drapery rods that could bear the weight (I have some old but nice drapes), but rods are not designed to float 2' out from the walls and I didn't want to go into the stipple ceiling for vertical support. I checked out a few other ideas at home stores. But what I ended up with was a 1" iron pipe.
Now, the iron pipe comes in 10' length and the walls were 10' 3" apart. Pipe couplings only add 1/2". So I thought about that. The 2 ideas I came up with were"
1. Attach 1.5" boards to the walls (1.5 plus 1.5 makes up the 3"), or
2. Hang the pipe from 3" corner braces
If I had used the boards, I would have have to fancy them up. Plane them to size, sand them, chamfer corners, stain and finish them, etc. I just didn't feel like doing all that. Maybe I will next year. I went with just hanging the pipe on corner braces. Hey, I had other things to do, and the gardening projects can't be delayed at this time of year!
So, there I was deciding to hang drapes from a 1" pipe. I decided that wouldn't work. Drapery hooks don't slide over pipes. But shower curtain rings do! Which gave me a further idea. Why not get some nice light outer shower curtains?
I attached the corner braces to the stud. The board was there to hold the other end of the pipe. I couldn't be at both ends.
Here is a clear picture of the shower curtain pattern. Not to plain, not too busy, not too cute.
The lamp will be hung up soon.
Here are a few pictures of what I wanted to hide behind the curtains...
Here are some of what it looked like afterwards...
Monday, February 28, 2011
Various Stuff...
I help the cats blog so much I start to lose track of my own stuff at times. So it is time to catch up a bit.
It is time to start my garden veggie seeds. The basement is, quite frankly, a mess! All Winter long, I just kept "doing things" and never mind the clutter. There was always time to arrange things for the early seed plantings. LOL, guess what time passed? Yeah, it is time to plant seeds and I am SO unready for it.
Grandiose plans for better seed/light planting shelves are now forgotten and I have to make do with the old structures. I have almost no southern light to help the plants, so I depend on fluorescent bulbs. Even the best ones are inherently weaker than real sunlight. I had thought to widen the shelves to increase the 2 bulbs to 4. I had thought I might add mirrors behind the shelves and in front to increase the reflected light. But I didn't.
So, what I did today was the best I could. I cleaned and reorganized enough space in the basement to collect all my gardening seed-starting materials into one place. I was actually leased with the results, though it is not worth a picture. If you want to picture it, just imagine a workbench with 10 sq ft empty space where there was none yesterday. :)
Well, at least I have THAT! And I sorted through my various bags of soil amendments to see what I had for a good seed starter blend. The local garden centers don't even have sterile soil-less mixes available yet. I am thrilled to see that I do have vermiculite, milled peat moss, fine sand, and some sterilized loam left over from last year. At least that will get me started!
On other news, Marley the cat is getting used to the new home. He is the fastest adapter I have had in decades. The others hid for several days, but Marley was ready to come out and find his place in the house after the first day.
He plays with Iza mostly. Iza outweighs him 12 lbs to 6 pounds, but he is fearless. It was a shock to Iza at first because she was "Top Cat" mostly by virtue of weight. Marley pounces from anywhere! At first, Iza was quite upset and poofed her tail and whapped him hard, but lately it has become more cooperative play with them taking turns chasing and then curling up together.
Ayla is the "odd cat out". As a small cat (yet the oldest) she never has been one for aggressive play. I think she is getting used to it though. She isn't doing the "chase and wrassle" that Iza and Marley do, but she does a certain kind of "you can't catch me" game with Marley. She hisses mildly, then provocatively hops OVER him several times then runs off. I think she is showing him that he really can't pounce her because she is just SO much more agile than he is.
That doesn't stop him from trying, of course. He's only 6 months old and braver than he is experienced. Marley chasing Ayla is like Marley chasing a shadow. When when she lets him get close, suddenly she is up on the top of the closet door and he is looking around for her on the floor.
The crocuses are starting to bloom! Yay! Spring is coming.
I made a hamburger yesterday. That may seem bland. But I ground up the meat (short ribs) myself. I sauteed mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, and some onion. Then I made a mayo/mustard mix with some minced garlic. What a great topping! I've had worse (good) steaks!
Tomorrow, it is back to cleaning the basement. There is so much more to do!
It is time to start my garden veggie seeds. The basement is, quite frankly, a mess! All Winter long, I just kept "doing things" and never mind the clutter. There was always time to arrange things for the early seed plantings. LOL, guess what time passed? Yeah, it is time to plant seeds and I am SO unready for it.
Grandiose plans for better seed/light planting shelves are now forgotten and I have to make do with the old structures. I have almost no southern light to help the plants, so I depend on fluorescent bulbs. Even the best ones are inherently weaker than real sunlight. I had thought to widen the shelves to increase the 2 bulbs to 4. I had thought I might add mirrors behind the shelves and in front to increase the reflected light. But I didn't.
So, what I did today was the best I could. I cleaned and reorganized enough space in the basement to collect all my gardening seed-starting materials into one place. I was actually leased with the results, though it is not worth a picture. If you want to picture it, just imagine a workbench with 10 sq ft empty space where there was none yesterday. :)
Well, at least I have THAT! And I sorted through my various bags of soil amendments to see what I had for a good seed starter blend. The local garden centers don't even have sterile soil-less mixes available yet. I am thrilled to see that I do have vermiculite, milled peat moss, fine sand, and some sterilized loam left over from last year. At least that will get me started!
On other news, Marley the cat is getting used to the new home. He is the fastest adapter I have had in decades. The others hid for several days, but Marley was ready to come out and find his place in the house after the first day.
He plays with Iza mostly. Iza outweighs him 12 lbs to 6 pounds, but he is fearless. It was a shock to Iza at first because she was "Top Cat" mostly by virtue of weight. Marley pounces from anywhere! At first, Iza was quite upset and poofed her tail and whapped him hard, but lately it has become more cooperative play with them taking turns chasing and then curling up together.
Ayla is the "odd cat out". As a small cat (yet the oldest) she never has been one for aggressive play. I think she is getting used to it though. She isn't doing the "chase and wrassle" that Iza and Marley do, but she does a certain kind of "you can't catch me" game with Marley. She hisses mildly, then provocatively hops OVER him several times then runs off. I think she is showing him that he really can't pounce her because she is just SO much more agile than he is.
That doesn't stop him from trying, of course. He's only 6 months old and braver than he is experienced. Marley chasing Ayla is like Marley chasing a shadow. When when she lets him get close, suddenly she is up on the top of the closet door and he is looking around for her on the floor.
The crocuses are starting to bloom! Yay! Spring is coming.
I made a hamburger yesterday. That may seem bland. But I ground up the meat (short ribs) myself. I sauteed mushrooms, red and green bell peppers, and some onion. Then I made a mayo/mustard mix with some minced garlic. What a great topping! I've had worse (good) steaks!
Tomorrow, it is back to cleaning the basement. There is so much more to do!
Monday, February 7, 2011
I'm Still Here!
Sorry I haven't posted here very much lately! Many causes...
1. I've been focussing on the cat blog most days trying to post every day AND visiting all my cat blogging friends. That has become important to me; I really like seeing what other people's cats are doing. And I have learned that MOST cat bloggers are really clever and creative writers.
2. I just tend to stop doing anything interesting in Winter. The temp outside is 30 and I just think "I don't wanna go OUT there. That's kind of shameful; I grew up in Massachusetts and (as kids), we used to make tunnels UNDER the snow! I have become a WIMP...
3. You would think that Winter would be the perfect time for wood-working activities. But the basement is 58. I just try to avoid it in Winter. Besides, who wants to wear a coat and gloves while building stuff?
4. Daylight matters, too. Doing projects is easier during the daytime. But in Winter, I tend to stay up late at night and get up at Noon. By the time I feed the cats, make lunch, and read the newspaper, it is 4 pm and getting dark.
5. I have discovered MSNBC! Progressive talk TV to counter Glenn Beck, Hannity, and Fox Channel in general! On weekdays (they don't have the talk shows on weekends), I am locked to the TV from 6pm to 10 pm. I DO some stuff because I listen more than I watch (and as a consequence, the house is actually cleaner than it used to be and I prepare food better).
6. And I like to watch both Daily and Colbert on The Comedy Channel. I have a deep and abiding love of intelligent sarcasm. Its the Johnny Carson opening monologue on steroids!
7. I have a good list of projects for this year once the weather improves. Nesting end tables, sturdy TV trays, a dictionary stand, enclosing the patio below the deck with 2"x3" mesh fencing so the cats can go out without danger, replacing the 4x4 posts under the deck with 6x6 posts, relining the pond and regrading it so the rain flows around it rather that into it, and building a boat shelter so the damn boat doesn't fill up with rain and falling leaves.
1. I've been focussing on the cat blog most days trying to post every day AND visiting all my cat blogging friends. That has become important to me; I really like seeing what other people's cats are doing. And I have learned that MOST cat bloggers are really clever and creative writers.
2. I just tend to stop doing anything interesting in Winter. The temp outside is 30 and I just think "I don't wanna go OUT there. That's kind of shameful; I grew up in Massachusetts and (as kids), we used to make tunnels UNDER the snow! I have become a WIMP...
3. You would think that Winter would be the perfect time for wood-working activities. But the basement is 58. I just try to avoid it in Winter. Besides, who wants to wear a coat and gloves while building stuff?
4. Daylight matters, too. Doing projects is easier during the daytime. But in Winter, I tend to stay up late at night and get up at Noon. By the time I feed the cats, make lunch, and read the newspaper, it is 4 pm and getting dark.
5. I have discovered MSNBC! Progressive talk TV to counter Glenn Beck, Hannity, and Fox Channel in general! On weekdays (they don't have the talk shows on weekends), I am locked to the TV from 6pm to 10 pm. I DO some stuff because I listen more than I watch (and as a consequence, the house is actually cleaner than it used to be and I prepare food better).
6. And I like to watch both Daily and Colbert on The Comedy Channel. I have a deep and abiding love of intelligent sarcasm. Its the Johnny Carson opening monologue on steroids!
7. I have a good list of projects for this year once the weather improves. Nesting end tables, sturdy TV trays, a dictionary stand, enclosing the patio below the deck with 2"x3" mesh fencing so the cats can go out without danger, replacing the 4x4 posts under the deck with 6x6 posts, relining the pond and regrading it so the rain flows around it rather that into it, and building a boat shelter so the damn boat doesn't fill up with rain and falling leaves.
Monday, November 1, 2010
OJ The Cat
I want to bring a shelter cat (OJ) into the house.
Please email LoisLHT@yahoo.com and tell her I am the right Bein to give OJ the Forever home he has been dreaming of...
The Big Thing
Please email LoisLHT@yahoo.com and tell her I am the right Bein to give OJ the Forever home he has been dreaming of...
The Big Thing
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Spring Has Sprung
It is time to start projects again. I'm just not good at doing stuff during Winter. Even indoors. It's weird.
But every Spring starts off with "Spring Cleaning". This time, the major kickoff event was TRASH DAY. I should explain. I don't pay for regular trash pickup, because I only generate 1 bag per month of households trash and 1 small bag of kitty litter. At $35/month for scheduled trash pickup, that's hard to accept.
So, since I regularly have stuff to bring to the recycling center (which is also the landfill), I just pay for trash weight at the same time. They have a flat fee of only $5 for all the residential trash you bring. I DO have curbside recycling, but they don't pick up boxes, bulky metal, etc. So I end up going to the landfill every few months.
Well, with the snow in Feb/March, and since I was saving winebottles since Oct thinking I might try making my own, I had a real load.
Part of it was my trash. I compost everything organic and recycle everything possible, so there isn't much per month. 1 bag. And it doesn't smell.
The stuff that DOES accumulate is kitty litter. I buy the new kitty litter in tubs and keep them for the used litter. Gaze on this and be amazed...
That's 6 months worth of used kitty litter. I bet ya haven't seen that much ever. Don't worry, the sealed bags I use prevent any smells... But still, that's a LOT of used kitty litter, LOL! 300 pounds of it!
The car itself was filled up with boxes, trash, old fluorescent tubes, unrecyclable styrofoam, etc.
I expected an easy delivery process. Thursday afternoon right after lunch. Who would be there? Well, the whole world, it seems. I forgot this was Spring Break Week and apparently a lot of adults take the week off too. The line to get IN to the dump was 15 minutes long and the line to get OUT (and pay) was 30 minutes. I ALWAYS forget that school is out this week...
And then I discovered that the $5 flat fee doesn't apply to trailers! It cost me $13 instead. Still, I can't complain much. 6 months of $35 trash pickup would have been $210! So I'm $197 ahead (minus 1 gallon of gasoline). That's a lot of steak and wine...
At least the weather was perfect. 70F, sunny, and a light breeze.
Next, Spring is really here and the gardening is underway...
But every Spring starts off with "Spring Cleaning". This time, the major kickoff event was TRASH DAY. I should explain. I don't pay for regular trash pickup, because I only generate 1 bag per month of households trash and 1 small bag of kitty litter. At $35/month for scheduled trash pickup, that's hard to accept.
So, since I regularly have stuff to bring to the recycling center (which is also the landfill), I just pay for trash weight at the same time. They have a flat fee of only $5 for all the residential trash you bring. I DO have curbside recycling, but they don't pick up boxes, bulky metal, etc. So I end up going to the landfill every few months.
Well, with the snow in Feb/March, and since I was saving winebottles since Oct thinking I might try making my own, I had a real load.
Part of it was my trash. I compost everything organic and recycle everything possible, so there isn't much per month. 1 bag. And it doesn't smell.
The stuff that DOES accumulate is kitty litter. I buy the new kitty litter in tubs and keep them for the used litter. Gaze on this and be amazed...
That's 6 months worth of used kitty litter. I bet ya haven't seen that much ever. Don't worry, the sealed bags I use prevent any smells... But still, that's a LOT of used kitty litter, LOL! 300 pounds of it!
The car itself was filled up with boxes, trash, old fluorescent tubes, unrecyclable styrofoam, etc.
I expected an easy delivery process. Thursday afternoon right after lunch. Who would be there? Well, the whole world, it seems. I forgot this was Spring Break Week and apparently a lot of adults take the week off too. The line to get IN to the dump was 15 minutes long and the line to get OUT (and pay) was 30 minutes. I ALWAYS forget that school is out this week...
And then I discovered that the $5 flat fee doesn't apply to trailers! It cost me $13 instead. Still, I can't complain much. 6 months of $35 trash pickup would have been $210! So I'm $197 ahead (minus 1 gallon of gasoline). That's a lot of steak and wine...
At least the weather was perfect. 70F, sunny, and a light breeze.
Next, Spring is really here and the gardening is underway...
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
The LC Burial Project
This is not truly a project, but a sad responsibility for me. But it meant something to me to do the burial with effort and care and love. I did not think it quite appropriate to place this on the Mark's Mews Blog, so it has to go here.
It was fortunate that the temperature went above freezing for over a week. LC died on the 13th and the ground was too hard to dig. But it was forecast to stay warmer for a whole, so I waited. This morning, I was able to push a thin metal rod through the freeze zone. And tomorrow it is expected to start freezing again.
So I went out this afternoon and brought my strongest digging implements: the solid steel spade, the "Mutt" (think of a 6' chisel), and a post hole digger. I was expecting to need my electric auger, but was spared that.
I dug the topsoil into one 5 gallon bucket. The next foot was clay and gravel in another bucket. Below that was pure sand. This whole area used to be a silt plain. I went through the same thing when I dug Skeeter's grave 13 months ago, but there I hit a lot of house construction debris. At least in LC's spot, it was clean.
So I got the hole 3 feet deep.
It was fortunate that the temperature went above freezing for over a week. LC died on the 13th and the ground was too hard to dig. But it was forecast to stay warmer for a whole, so I waited. This morning, I was able to push a thin metal rod through the freeze zone. And tomorrow it is expected to start freezing again.
So I went out this afternoon and brought my strongest digging implements: the solid steel spade, the "Mutt" (think of a 6' chisel), and a post hole digger. I was expecting to need my electric auger, but was spared that.
I dug the topsoil into one 5 gallon bucket. The next foot was clay and gravel in another bucket. Below that was pure sand. This whole area used to be a silt plain. I went through the same thing when I dug Skeeter's grave 13 months ago, but there I hit a lot of house construction debris. At least in LC's spot, it was clean.
So I got the hole 3 feet deep.
It doesn't look it, but the camera shows no depth. I measured it with a yardstick. There were three 5-gallon buckets filled from a 1.5 sq ft hole
I laid dear LC out on the ground next to it...
When I was sure the hole was large enough, I set her in.
That was very hard. I placed a couple favorite toys, some of her only favorite kitty treat, and some fresh catnip on her. Then the final part. I covered her body with dirt.
That was the hardest part, yet it must be done. So final, yet so merely mechanical. Dumping dirt from a bucket... Why does truly saying "goodbye" mean covering someone with dirt?
Well, I will build a small wooden marker to match Skeeter's, but for now I will use a paver stone to mark her special spot.
Farewell LC... You were A Very Good cat, but you are over the Bridge now with Skeeter. You have moved on and now I must do the same. See you again someday...
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
And Now We Are Only 3 (1 Person and 2 Cats)
I am sad to say that an era has ended. I have been dreading this day for months. LC has joined Skeeter over the Bridge. Skeeter joined me in 1992 and went over the Bridge Dec 2008, LC joined us in 1993 and left this afternoon. Together, they were a major part of my life for 17 years. I hardly know how to imagine their absence. While LC was still here, so was Skeeter in a way. Now she has gone too.
I give LC her thyroid med when I go to bed and when I get up in the morning. Last night, I couldn't find her. Well, that happens sometimes; there are lots of places in this house where kitties can hide when they want to and LC always knew when it was med time. Ayla has some places I have NEVER discovered. LC seldom hid, but she did a few times.
This morning, when she didn't come for breakfast, I went searching. The past couple of months, I have often had to find her and bring her food to her. I couldn't find her anywhere. After 30 minutes of searching, with dread in my heart, I spied a tail. She had burrowed into a corner of basement clutter. When I shook her, she did not move.
I went upstairs and cried. After a while, I went back downstairs to retrieve her body. She was completely unmoving. But when I pulled her out, she was warm. She blinked one eye. She was at the vet 5 minutes later, though essentially comatose. The vet put her on fluids immediately and drew blood for tests. He sent me home.
An hour later, the vet called and said she had died. He said she had roused a bit after the fluids but that at one of their every-10-minute checks, she was gone.
Oh LC, I am so sorry that I wasn't there in your last minutes. I wish I had just kept you home and held you until your brave spirit left your failing body so you could leave while in my arms as Skeeter did. But I had to try to save you for a few more days...
I do not think she was at all aware of her surroundings. The vet says she died from a kidney infection; her white blood cell count was very high. He says she was not in any pain, just was feeling very very tired.
When I went to bring her home, the vet had tears in his eyes too. The assistant who brought her to me was also crying. She knows how I felt because she said she lost her 5 kitties in a house fire last week. We cried together for a few minutes. But I had to leave...
At home, I laid LC on the floor for Ayla and Iza to examine. Iza sniffed her many times. Ayla came over, but backed away and ran into the kitty condo cave. She stayed in there an hour. I think they understood that LC was no longer in her body. It is important to me that they understand that she is dead rather than "missing".
They were beloved close companions (and mine) all their lives, their bodies will be close to each other afterwards. It's all I can do at this point...
Please forgive my maundering and inelegant post. I am grieving the loss of their presence and my memory of them. I had so many happy years with both of them. It is hard to accept that they are BOTH now gone. 17 years is a long time to share with cat-friends, and I am grateful for that time together. They exist only in my heart and mind, treasured pictures, and their memorials.
Goodbye Skeeter and LC...
I think I will now go toss toys to Ayla and Iza, and explain to them that they are the "new era" now...
I give LC her thyroid med when I go to bed and when I get up in the morning. Last night, I couldn't find her. Well, that happens sometimes; there are lots of places in this house where kitties can hide when they want to and LC always knew when it was med time. Ayla has some places I have NEVER discovered. LC seldom hid, but she did a few times.
This morning, when she didn't come for breakfast, I went searching. The past couple of months, I have often had to find her and bring her food to her. I couldn't find her anywhere. After 30 minutes of searching, with dread in my heart, I spied a tail. She had burrowed into a corner of basement clutter. When I shook her, she did not move.
An hour later, the vet called and said she had died. He said she had roused a bit after the fluids but that at one of their every-10-minute checks, she was gone.
Oh LC, I am so sorry that I wasn't there in your last minutes. I wish I had just kept you home and held you until your brave spirit left your failing body so you could leave while in my arms as Skeeter did. But I had to try to save you for a few more days...
I do not think she was at all aware of her surroundings. The vet says she died from a kidney infection; her white blood cell count was very high. He says she was not in any pain, just was feeling very very tired.
When I went to bring her home, the vet had tears in his eyes too. The assistant who brought her to me was also crying. She knows how I felt because she said she lost her 5 kitties in a house fire last week. We cried together for a few minutes. But I had to leave...
At home, I laid LC on the floor for Ayla and Iza to examine. Iza sniffed her many times. Ayla came over, but backed away and ran into the kitty condo cave. She stayed in there an hour. I think they understood that LC was no longer in her body. It is important to me that they understand that she is dead rather than "missing".
I went outside to dig a spot for LC next to Skeeter, but the ground is frozen hard. I can't handle this today. Tommorrow, I will try pouring hot water on the soil to thaw it. For now, I need to build a small memorial box like Skeeter's.
Please forgive my maundering and inelegant post. I am grieving the loss of their presence and my memory of them. I had so many happy years with both of them. It is hard to accept that they are BOTH now gone. 17 years is a long time to share with cat-friends, and I am grateful for that time together. They exist only in my heart and mind, treasured pictures, and their memorials.
Goodbye Skeeter and LC...
I think I will now go toss toys to Ayla and Iza, and explain to them that they are the "new era" now...
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I think I have it figured out now. I needed basic frame strength (cubes) plus top support (arches with a ridgepole) for shedding rain and s... -
I like to plant Pansies in the Fall. I replace the dead Tomatos and deck pot flowers with them most years. Best deal I found was 12-packs ...