Daffodils

 I musn't ignore the daffodils!  They are blooming well.  It was a wet Winter and they seem happy!  Yeah, they want it dry during the Summer/Fall but late Winter rain seems to suit them...

Yesterday, I had the first good blooms.

OK, those last are getting ready to bloom, but they will open in a series of weeks as there are early to late bloomers in the bed.  I did that deliberately.  I wish I had just mixed them all up instead so that there would be blooms all through the bed.  Seeing the bed in quarters of blooms isn't as good as I imagined.  So I think I will start sneaking different-time bloomers among the earliest and latest ones.

There are a few empty spots where some died out so I will mark those spots and plant opposite-time bloomers there.  When you change your mind about some things, there are usually ways to adjust over a few years.

Flowers

The Spring bulbs are starting full bloom.  Crocuses today.  The early yellow crocuses have started to fade, but the purple and striped lavender ones are showing their best.  

I was very pleased when the heat pump maintenance guy walked out of the basement to inspect the outside unit and said "wow, look at all the flowers"!  Not many people see the whole spread, and pictures of the whole are don't do them justice.

And I plan to plant more this Fall.

I also have to give some credit to the squirrels!  Apparently they sometimes dig up a few and plant them elsewhere.  I only say that because there are some crocuses where I know I never planted them.  And I'm pretty sure they don't spread any seeds.

The only expansion of crocuses I know about are when bulbs multiply where planted.  I tend to plant them in groups of 5 or 7, a few inches apart.  Some when I see several in the same exact spot, I know they have multiplied.  When I see a single one blooming in a spot I didn't plant them in, I have to suspect the squirrels...

I should dig up some of the more numerous clumps and spread the bulbs around.  Free bulbs are good and I could probably double the number of patches.  But part of me says "don't mess with success" and disturb a happy crocus spot.

Basketball

 I don't watch professional basketball at all.  It isn't the game I remember from decades ago.  It is surprisingly violent.  The refs don't call most fouls, travelling is routine, and it seems to me that most dribblers palm the ball most of the time.  It's almost a cross between hockey and rugby.

But I watch my alma mater University of Maryland basketball teams.   When I started there, the men's team was average and there wasn't a women's team (I think).  The University got a good coach who raised the game to higher levels (just as I was leaving, of course) and for many years after.  

Funny story there.  I don't know why Mom got so wrapped up it the team.  But she got more emotionally involved in the games than I did, so it wasn't just because of me.  She would get all wound up, but she couldn't watch for long.  She would watch the game a couple a minutes and then leave for a few minutes cheering or yelling until she checked the score again.  She said actually watching the game was too exhausting! 

I watched in later years when they were near the top, and not much when they weren't.  I was a real fair-weather supporter.  In fact, I am a real homey but also a "watch when winning" about all local teams.  I'm not going to spend a lot of time watching a local team  when they are like 2-11. It's just too hard.  😭

But I discovered the U of Maryland Women's basketball team.  First, it was more like the game I remembered.  Second, they won a lot.  I've been watching them often for about 10 years now.  Most years, they are automatic for the NCAA ("National Collegiate Athletic Association" for my foreign friends) tourney, and they won the title in 2005-2006 season.

This year has not been so good.  They went 19-12 overall and 9-9 in The Big Ten Conference.  But yesterday the played Ohio State in the conference tourney and won 82-61!  Ohio State was ranked #1 in the conference and #4 nationally.  Winning was an upset.  Winning by 21 points was a crush!

Just winning the game was a major thing.  U of MD Womens team has a hard time with ranked teams (they are ranked somewhere in the 30s themselves).  Ohio as #4 is certainly going to the NCAA, so this won't exactly ruin their season.  But it gives a big boost to Univ of MD's chances of getting in.  

The Univ of MD has a 17 year streak of being in the NCAA tourney and it  would be a shame to see that end.  I don't expect them to advance far (they suddenly lost 3 starters this season), but I'll sure watch them do their best.

Here's the kicker...  I didn't see them beat Ohio State.  I assumed a game against the top conference team would be a prime-time game.  But it started at 2 PM and I was busy outside (expecting to watch the game later.  ARGGGH!  😞

Routine Heat Pump Maintenance

I had a new Trane heat pump installed late last Summer.  I had gotten tired of basic brands failing to the point of needing replacement every 5-8 years.  Somewhat painfully expensive, but it was about the best available (quiet, efficient and should last 12-15 years).

I am a bit slack on maintenance.  

So, funny story!  The installer called me and said it was due for "Fall" maintenance.  They said they sent a post card and I hadn't responded.  And that it had to be scheduled by the following week or I would miss out on this year.

Well, statements like that immediately raise red flags in my mind.  Sounded like spam.  So I checked my files and found the company that called was the installer (I had forgotten their name) and the phone number did match the one on the installation record.  

So I called, expecting they wanted to schedule a maintenance visit for next October.  I could understand that they wanted to make sure the heat pump kept running during the 5 year warranty.  So, OK, I can write a visit for next October on my calendar..

Turns out that they have a different definition of "Fall" than I do.  So a confusing conversation ensued.  I'll repeat it as best I can...

Company:  We need to schedule a Fall maintenance visit.  It's included in your purchase.

Me:  OK, when?  (I'll accept a free maintenance visit)

Company:  Monday.

Me:  Monday when?

Company:  Next week.

Me:  For "Fall" maintenance?

Company:  Yes.

Me: But Fall is 8 months away!

Company:  Yes, but if we don't schedule it now, we close the books next week!

   --------

OK, to shorten the confusion, I'll mention that they live with Fall/Winter and Spring/Summer maintenance schedules.  So in company lingo, they just say Fall and Spring.  I finally figured out they were talking about Last Fall and This Winter!  LOL!

So of course I scheduled a visit.  The guy who came did a good job (so far as I can tell).  Blew out some dust, tightened some screws, hooked up some equipment that (as I asked him to explain for future understanding) tested air-flow, temperature input/output, and internal electrical connections, etc.

Everything was working fine.  😍

But there was a slight problem left over from the installation.  The installer disconnected my self-installed humidifier.  I don't know why, but it was deliberate because he installed a sheet metal patch over the hole where the control was and left the wires hanging.  

I'll be kind, and assume he meant to reinstall it after he had the basic system instaalled and test.  But the fact remains that he didn't.  And I had been struggling to understand the circuit diagrams in order to reconnect the wires and replace the control dial.  And failed.  A picture is worth a 1,000 words but a circuit diagram is useless to me.  

So since I had a guy here, I asked if he could just connect the wires easily.   I mean, it was their company that disconnected them.  And I apologized in advance if humidifiers weren't his problem.  He said he knew all about them and looked at the wires and parts.  Took the cover back off the inside air blower.  Looked for where the humidity-detector should attach.  

Couldn't reattach it with what he had.  System is 240 volts, and the humidity-detector is 120, so it needs an adapter.  Plus "spade-joints" (a kind of wire terminator plug on - yeah I don't know those either).  Well, his maintenance kit doesn't come with those.  

I am scheduled for Spring/Summer maintenance in June.  He said to remind the Company then, that I need those.  OK.

The good news is that this has been a damp Winter and the humidifier wasn't needed much (in past pre-humidifier years, my lips cracked, the cat were static-shocked during petting, and I could turn on my bedside fluorescent light by just touching the metal base).  And I had an old single room humidifier in the bedroom set up again.  So an easy Winter.

So I got through Winter anyway, even with the central air one not working.  But I sure intend to make sure they get it rewired properly at the Spring/Summer maintenance visit!

I am still cracking up over the confusing phone call scheduling yesterday's visit...  You have to accept the strange conversations in life sometimes.

Art?

Had to share this.  

I grow a lot of lettuces, celery, bok choy, etc in planter trays.

And I was starting a new season of them last week.  But the trays have a wire hook in the middle to keep the sides from spreading.  They got filled with dirt and the hooks didn't fit in anymore.

So I used a cheap drill bit to both pull the dirt out and enlarge them slightly.  Now, the wire hooks fit in great.  

Emptied all the dirt into a large tray.  Mixed in some organic slow-release fertilizer.  Add fresh potting soil on the top 2 inches.  Leveled the soil in the trays.  And because the dry peat moss part of the soil doesn't get wet easily at first, poured hot water into all the 10 trays.

Ready to plant tomorrow under bright fluorescent lights.  But fluorescent lights don't last forever.  I get a year from them (they are on 14 hours a day).  So I spent an hour replacing tubes that were dead.  Getting the old ones out is sometimes hard.  Getting new ones in is harder.  Frustrating sometimes.  But I got that done.

But I'll have fresh lettuces etc to put outside on the deck (see last year's picture above) in time to get more standard garden veggies under the lights soon.

So what I wanted to share was that I was out of red leaf lettuce.  And buying a single seed packet online is ridiculous (about $14).  And they want to send you 500 seeds.  As if I needed 500 seeds.  I plant a dozen per year.  

So Walmart had a 50 seed packet for $2.  Perfect.  A bit of red lettuce in my daily salad goes a long way for appearance.  

Planting indoors is now on it's way!

I mentioned "art" didn't I?  I almost forgot.  Drilling the tray for the hooks to fit was a bit of a project.  I have a drill press and that helped.  Drilled dirt out and enlarged the holes slightly.  The results were interesting!

Here is the cheap drill bit after all the drilling...

And here is the bit spinning around...

I think that looks sort of artistic...

Do you?

The State Of The Mews

Trying new things to fix "fuss&upset"...

Marley still has kidney problems and alway will.  But the kidney care Hill's Science diet (and some portion control for weight) has helped.  And he will be 14 in August.  Elderly cats usually develop some problem.  I can't do anything about that.  

Lori is still upset about Loki and Binq.  I can't do much about that either.  But things are slowly getting better.  Lori and Loki sniff noses and butts sometimes.  They walk past each other calmly sometimes.  They eat near each other sometimes.  

There are still hisses and raised paws, but not like at first.  I have seen them sitting calmly a foot apart a couple of times.

Lori is still having stress-diarrhea issues.  I say "stress" only because the Vet says it has gone on too long and meds should have solved any physical issues by now.  There could be something more serious physically and if Lori and Loki resolve their psychological issues and Lori still has diarrhea, we will try more serious tests (disease, blockage, whatever).  I want her around for a long long time.

But I can say the diarrhea problems are less frequent.  There are now several clean days to each bad one.  Which (to me) seems to fit the "stress" idea.  And to be fair to Loki, Lori initiates about half the "fusses".

Loki is still a problem.  He arrived with "eye-goop" and abdominal muscle spasms.  Those have both gone away.  Meds cleared the head infection and I have no idea why the abdominal spasms occurred or why they stopped.  Some problems stop and you know why (meds) and some stop and you never do know why.    

One day he just stopped having those abdominal spasms.  I didn't even notice at first.  It's like when an itch stops.  All of a sudden, you just realize it ended...

Loki's biggest problem is that he suddenly started peeing on my bed a month ago.  I didn't know which cat it was, but every few days, the sheets/blankets were wet.  First once a week, then every few days, then every day.  

I finally caught him "in the act".  I yelled (wish I hadn't; he must have had a reason).  Well, I was frustrated!  I don't know how many of you have ever had a waterbed.  I've been sleeping on waterbeds for about 40 years.  I love the "give" as my body settles onto it.  Some people hate them.  But because water absorbs warmth from the body, you need layers of sheets and blankets beneath you even with a heated one.

So I have 3 sheets and 3 blankets below me and 1 of each above.  Well, I was getting tired of laundering sheets and blankets every couple of days.  I put a plastic tarp over the bed, so that if he peed there his own pee would pool around his paws.  I thought that would discourage him.  Not at all...

THAT didn't even stop him.  And a few days ago, while I was right there next to him, he was sitting on the bed and I recognized the "litter box blank stare"!  And the pee rolled to the edge of the bed and wet the bedcovers.  I had to wash everything again.  And my washer/dryer can only handle 1 blanket and one sheet each cycle.  Took all day!

I decided that Loki was "too much trouble" and needed to be returned to the Shelter in hopes he would find a new home that didn't cause him stress.  I've thought that several times in the past month.  

I go between "Loki is never going to be quite domesticated" and "I need to find some way to keep him here".  I am angry one day and trying to be tolerant the next.  Loki loves me personally.  He seeks (and gets) all the attention I can give divided among 4 cats.  He seeks me out and follws me everywhere.  He is definitely happy around me.  And he is happy around Marley and Binq.

It isn't a litter box problem.  Loki happily poops in them.  And I know the "1 box per cat" guidance (so I have 4) and I clean them every day before I make my own dinner (makes it easy to remember to do).

So I've changed tactics.  The tarp stays on the bed as pee-proofing of the blankets and sheets below.  And that works because I put an old sheet on top of the tarp.  That way, any pee is soaked up by the old sheet.  I will launder an old sheet every day for his life if I have to.  

Because it isn't his fault that he is having a peeing problem.  It is mine to help solve (OK maybe the Vet too).  

I have occasionally mentioned that I am constantly amazed that some animals can share our human artificial spaces.   Dogs need to be walked, rabbits poop anywhere, I don't even know what ferrets do.  Cats usually just need a litterbox.  

That's part of the human/cat bargain.  We provide shelter/food/attention and they use the clean litterboxes.  But they have to use the litterboxes.

The old sheet on the tarp covering the bed has stayed dry for 4 days.  That is great news.  

Maybe, a few months from now, all The Mews will snuggle together, Loki will stop peeing on the bed, etc.  

Meanwhile, I will go about planting the garden and cleaning the house...  *Sigh*

Growing Tomatoes And Some other Garden Items

I have 2 major problems growing tomatoes the past few years.  First, my enclosed raised bed garden is shaded by neighbors' junk volunteer trees as they have grown larger.  Second, a sunnier spot where I've grown them for 5 years has built up levels of tomato diseases and insect pathogens that just kill them.  I'll plant corn and some other crops there for a few years.

One problem with planting them elsewhere is that tomatoes like fairly soft rich soil and I don't really have space like that elsewhere.  So I thought about planting them in the best sunlight I have.  But that's where my meadow bed is.  And tomatoes don't like competition.

So I thought of using pots.  Tomato roots need space, so 5 gallon buckets are a bit small for my large heirloom tomatoes.  I looked at small trash barrels, but they were too large and a bit expensive.  So I looked up large deck pots, which were also expensive.

I did, however, find 10 gallon "nursery pots" at only $10 each in a pack of 10 pots.  That sounds perfect!  They arrived last week.

The first thing I noticed upon opening the box were some pieces.  Sure enough, one had a broken rim.  I was quite annoyed of course.  But get this,  they sent 11 pots!  So I still had the good 10 promised.  And the broken was is still actually functional.

So...  I'll put the pots around the outer edge of the meadow bed for the best sunlight.  I'll buy a trailerload of mixed 1/2 topsoil 1/2 compost from the local nursery and grow tomatoes in it for a couple of years.  Then I'll add that soil to the raised beds.  Or I'll put plastic trash bags over them and solarize the soil.

Solarization is usually used on large flat areas, but should work on pots just as well.  It might even work better.  One warning I read is that some harmful soil insects can move deeply enough into flat soil to escape the heat.  They can't do that in a pot!

That may seem like a lot of work.  But I love heirloom tomatoes!  And once you have had a homegrown heirloom tomato (not a chilled-for-shipping store-bought) one, you will never look at grocery store tomatoes the same way.

So I am hoping for a decent tomato crop after several years of frustration.

Cat Problems

 Loki has decided the bed is a good place to pee.  Which is difficult for me.   I finally figured out that the pee spots on the bed were from Loki.  I caught him in the act finally.  I need to research "inappropriate peeing".

I have several alternating layers of sheets and blankets on the waterbed, so washing them all takes a lot of time and effort.  I did that today and placed a plastic tarp on top.  Let him pee on that and see how he likes it!

And he likes chasing Lori.  Unlike Laz (who chased Lori viciously toward the end) Loki wants to play "chase" (I hope).  But Lori doesn't like that either.

Binq thinks my hands are toys to grab at with claws out.  And that my legs are scratching posts.  But she is getting better about that.  

Lori still hates both newbies.  And still has diarrhea after almost 3 months.  It is less than it was, but sometimes suddenly bad.  I have a new med for her and will hope that helps.  She is struggling with the last few months of insanity and the arrival of the "Unwanted Newbies" (from her POV).

Marley is staring to resist his kidney food diet.  I add some regular food on top, but he stops below that.  Putting him in The Mews Room with his bowl usually works.  

Lori gets the bedroom for her mealtimes lately.  The peace helps her eat.  I may have to isolate Loki for meals too.  Binq eats everything quickly and takes Loki's bowl too.  He has lost weight, so I have to get him to eat more.  Oddly, Binq isn't gaining any weight.  Maybe that is because she is very active in playing with toys.  

So there are problems here.  Not everything is bad.  The bad parts are infrequent.  There are good things too.

Each of The Mews love me individually.  If I stand in a room a few minutes, they are all there.  Loki follows we around the house constantly and seems distressed by any separation.  He even sits in the bathroom when I take a shower, and few cats like to be around heavy running water.

Binq doesn't want to share the bed at night, but she nearly attacks me in the morning for attention.  She just has "her time" for wanting me to pet/scritch/stroke her.  She is not a lapcat, but stays on the chair (top or arms) near me when I watch TV.

As I've said, Loki follows me around the house everywhere.  Nothing stops him.  If I'm putting laundry in the dryer, he jumps in there.  If I pull him out, he sits in the washer.  He sits on my lap when I am watching TV, sits on the newspaper when I am reading it during lunch.  The only time he is happy away from me is at meals.  

Lori wants to stay near me too.  She has always been close to me most times.  If Loki isn't near me, she is.  And on my lap if she doesn't see Loki or Binq nearby.  

Marley is always perfect of course.  Lapcat, tolerant friend to all.

I may have made a mistake bringing Loki and Binq into the house.  I thought "playmates" after her once-good relationship with Laz.  But it isn't working well.  But they are all here and it is my responsibility to try to get them all adjusted.

Driving me damn near crazy though... 

Cordless Drill

ARGGH!

The 2 batteries on my 2007 Dewalt cordless drill finally died, so I needed replacements.  The original equipment batteries are no longer available.  So I searched for replacements.  Eventually, I decided I just couldn't trust the replacement sellers.  Doing reviews of the companies, 2 came up "suspicious" and I doubt the others were any better.

So, new drill needed.  I checked 3 sites about the best new drills.  Wood Magazine, Consumer Reports, and a "Best tool" site.  Each varied considerably in recommendations.  That sort of thing can drive you crazy!  You would think ratings from a woodworking magazine and Consumer Reports (both of whom do detailed tests) would mostly agree.  They didn't.  And a "best tools" site might have a commercial bias. 

Reviews of all of the top few drills had many negative reviews on other sites.  It is altogether maddening!

I settled on one Dewalt drill based on experience with Dewalt tools in general, their consistently high brand rating, and some ratings.  And then couldn't find it for sale ("not in stock").  So I gave up.  

I went to Amazon, thinking I had found it.  It had a 5 star rating.  Yay.  Ordered it immediately. When I got the order confirmation from Amazon, I realized it wasn't the one I thought I was buying.  (GRRR).

Well, a drill is a drill is a drill and it got 5 stars from purchasers.  So, I won't cancel the order.  It comes with 2 batteries, a case and a charger.  If it lasts 17 years like the previous Dewalt drill, it will be well worth it.

The old one built 400' of fence, a 2 level deck, paneled the basement, and did endless odd-jobs for 17 years.  That's enough.  Time for a new one.

Busy Day

Finally started cleaning the basement to start planting seeds soon.  What a MESS it had become!   I could barely move around in parts of it.

Part of it is Loki.  He's an explorer and a real climber.  And when he jumps up of some places, they aren't as sturdy or stable as he thinks.  Appearances can easily deceive a cat.  They think that anything that looks solid is solid.  A stack of stuff can fall over.

So my stack of soil-filled planting trays (ready for planting) wasn't as sturdy as he thought it was.  It all crashed down and spilled the soil out everywhere!  

But most of it is my fault.  Last year, I had a bit of a return to some of the results of falling off the extension ladder.  Sore back, sore knees, some general fatigue.  So when finished with yard/garden work, I tended to put stuff in the basement wherever I could fit.

Well, you run out of space eventually.  Things don't get put away as they should.  Buckets stay a bit dirty.  Seed packets sit out and expire in the warmth (I usually keep them refrigerated).  Fallen soil collects on the floor.  And I fell into a habit of just laying in bed every night for 10 or more hours (mild depression, long covid, aging?) and that didn't leave much awake time for other than basic stuff (and blogging, which I just have to do).

I'd been meaning to tackle cleaning the basement for a month, but there was always something more immediate to do.  The seductive comfort of the heated waterbed, doing laundry, cooking, shopping, etc...  

But I've been getting myself up earlier lately.  Yesterday I made lunch fast, just skimmed the newspaper (must read the editorials and comics), and got myself down the basement.  Where on earth to start?  Well, if I am going to cook dinner, I want the kitchen clean.  I know I will make some mess cooking, but I need it to be clean to start.

So, in the basement, I picked stuff up off the floor, then swept it (I have a shop-vacuum, but I don't like the noise).  And sweeping is rather "meditative".  Quiet, repetitive, calming...  I knew I would mess it up again cleaning higher spots later, but it gave me a good surface to work from.

I mix my own potting soil.  When I run out of it, I mix more.  Which means I have bags of various stuff (peat, sand, compost, lime, fertilizer) left over.  I also used to buy kitty litter in 35# tubs.  They make great containers for the leftovers.  

So I combined 1/2 buckets of some of those and stashed them under my potting bench after sweeping that area clean.  Then brushed the empty buckets clean.  Stacked them up and set them in the garage.  That got me some space.

Collected everything that should really be out in the toolshed and set them next to the patio door for moving there by wheelbarrow (today was for organizing, not moving).  That got me some more space.  Took the trays I grow lettuce and other small crops in and dumped them all into a large shallow bin.  Broke up the chunks of soil and mixed it around with some organic slow-release fertilizer.  Refilled the trays and stacked them aside for planting in a few days.  

That got me the small TV-Tray-size worktable back.  It sits next to the basement refrigerator.  I use it for  holding bulk fresh food while I fit it into the fridge and I also use it for planting.  I was glad to have it available again.

I have a large planting stand, 2'x4' and 5 shelves high.  Bought it many years ago and added fluorescent light fixtures to the underside of each shelf.  Fluorescent lights last well and are energy-efficient, but at 14-16 hours per day, they last only months and even then, they collectively use about 800 watts!  And the fluorescent tubes aren't free either.

So, 1 1/2 years ago, I bought special "grow-light" LED) panels to replace them.  I haven't done that yet.  I need to take all the fluorescent fixtures off and install the LEDs, but I didn't have space (or energy) to do it before.  I am ready to do that now.  The LEDs use 1/4 of the energy and should last many years.  That almost starts to feel like "free", and the seedlings will get better light!  

But it will probably take an entire day to get that done.  I will remove the old fixtures one half-day and install the new ones the next half day.  Because I know my hands/fingers will cramp if I try to do it all in one day (and may anyway in 2 days).  

And I still have to clean the potting table.  The soil from the stacked trays Loki knocked over a couple months ago is still all over it.  The seed packets are still sitting out on the table and are probably useless now.  I have a pile of seed labels that need to be sorted out.  I rinsed out the old 6-pack cells a few days ago, and they are dry and ready to reuse.

Aside from basement-cleaning for planting,  I need to re-order many seeds.  It's a bit late, so some I want will be "out-of stock" now, but that's my fault.  Vegetable seeds will be easier to replace, but flower seeds become unavailable fast.  

But at least I am making some serious progress in the basement.

 

Falling Apart

I don't know what to do.  The Mews are becoming too much for me to deal with.

It all started to go bad when Iza died of some sort of internal hemorrhaging in April 2020.  She was only 12.  I decided to find another Tonkinese female.  I went to the breeder who brought me Iza, but she didn't know a source of Tonkinese (Iza was originally thought to be a "smudged" Siamese).

But she had a troubled half-Siamese male who needed a peaceful home.  And she thought I was the right person to help (re-socialize) him.  I accepted him.

And that is where my long-standing happy cat-household went wrong.  I loved Laz personally and he loved me in return.  But adopting him ruined everything since then.  

Laz attacked Ayla (my Princess) for months and made her miserable.  She hid from him and restricted her life in the house.  She spent most of her days on a high windowsill just for safety.  She shouldn't have had to live her last year like that.

I finally found a Tonkinese female kitten from a championship breeder (didn't know about that at the time).  Laz and Lori became BFFs.  Until one day, Laz's bad memories returned and he started attacking her too.

Ayla succumbed to old age last Fall.  Stopped eating and all that.  Laz was going violently insane by that time.  I could only just finally release him weeks later from the terrors of his kittenhood, as he was attacking Lori daily and viciously.  The vet agreed.  Laz went to The Bridge.

Which left Marley and Lori.  Marley is a trooper and stayed calm.  Lori seemed lonely.  So I thought to find her a companion of her own age.  

I have avoided Shelters.  The contracts seemed a bit threatening about "right to visit and take a cat back:,  But I went to the Shelter because I saw a nice orange kitty on their website.  

She hated me.  But 2 others were very friendly.  I decided to adopt both.  The male (Loki) came with a head infection and spasmodic abdominal coughs (which he got over with meds).  The female (Binq) was clawy on my pants and claw-grabbed at my hands constantly.   She is getting better about that now.

But Lori hated them both (and still does).  Lori developed a diarrhea problem almost immediately.  I assume it is stress.  She dribbles syrupy poo everywhere she walks a couple times a day.  It has been this way for 2 and a half months.

It doesn't seem to be any physical issue.  On the Vet's advice, we have tried everything in that concern.  Lori just won't accept the 2 new ones.  The vet and I are convinced Lori's diarrhea problem is actually psychological.

We can't seem to solve that.  The vet suggested I lock Loki and Binq in a room for 2 weeks to give Lori control of the house.  I can't do that.  They are too active, they want my attention constantly.  I tried it one night and they banged the door, cried loudly, rattled the door, and scratched at it constantly to get out.  I couldn't sleep at all.

Lori is getting an orally-administered paste 2x a day and a pill (for biotics).  She also gets a half pill for "calming".  But nothing seems to help.  A few nights ago, she crawled under my blanket and driibbled as she went in.  She soled the sheert, the pillow, and my elbow.  She peess on the blanket too.

Last night, she dribbled while walking.  And on the blanket.

So I have to do something.  And all bad choices...

1.  Rehome Lori  (and that would break my heart).  I worked too hard to get her and I love her so much.

2.  Return Loki and Binq to the Shelter.  But they are so happy here and love me.  I've had many loving cats here who were "attentive' but Loki is nearly "adhesive".  He can't stand to be away from me.  Binq is getting rather "lovey" towards me.

3. Put up with the current cat-fuss.  And hope Lori calms down?

What do I do now?

This can't go on...