Two Kitties and a Puppy

Farewell

2010-03-06T01:34:00.002-05:00

I have decided that my time writing in this blog is about over. I have been struggling to maintain it due to the changes in my family and lifestyle. There is so much that can be said about animals and pets, but I don't have the time to research and write well. Perhaps at another future time in my life...!

Thanks to all my readers (all 3 of you!) for following me these past 2 1/2 years. May God be with you!

Sedatives for the kitties

2010-02-18T22:17:00.002-05:00

When we went to Orlando for Thanksgiving, Ebony drove me nuts in the car. In the past, she has been fine in the car, but I think everything is different now that the baby is here. We got her a hard-sided carrier and that helped, but I wanted to try sedatives as well.

The vet gave us a prescription for a sedative just to take the edge off. On the way down to Orlando, we gave to both cats. We decided that on the way back, we would only give it to Ebony. You see, the sedative made them very relaxed... And that also made them kinda, uh, stinky, as if they were colon and body cleansers. Every so often the person who was holding Lewis had to open the window and air out the car for a few minutes.

Overall, the sedatives helped Ebony so we'll probably continue to give them to her in the future. Since she's in the crate in the backseat, the smell isn't so bad. :-)

Feeding stations

2010-02-16T10:14:00.003-05:00

I'm sure anyone with cats - or anyone with pets, for that matter - can understand how messy the feeding stations can be. I feel like I'm sweeping up little bits of kibble after every meal. And what doesn't get swept up gets stepped on and crushed.

I didn't notice it as much when we had carpet, but now the kibble gets knocked everywhere and winds up on the other side of the room and underneath our contemporary sofas. Also, our hardwood floors are from 1960 and not sealed which means they can't get wet.

When we traveled last month, I was reading SkyMall magazine in the plane. (Don't you love that magazine?) They had a product that I thought was pretty cool idea - called the Neater Feeder. It's a food and water bowl contained in such a way as to prevent food and water from falling to the floor. It sounds exactly what I'm looking for!

However, it's $35... and we'd need two. So I'll have to think about it some more. And maybe look around to see if another place has something that does the same thing for cheaper. Has anyone else had the same problem and found a good solution?

How to Put the Spark Back Into Your Relationship with Your Cat

2010-02-06T13:07:00.000-05:00

How To Put The Spark Back Into Your Relationship With Your Cat

Freekibblekat

2010-02-05T19:27:00.005-05:00

I am just finding this out right now, so I apologize for the late notice! But play Freekibblekat today and they will donate five times the amount of kibble to shelter cats! Hooray!

From the website:

Play Meow trivia on Feb. 5, and we'll donate 5 times the kibble (5 x 10 pieces) = 50 (for each answer, right or wrong... it's easy, fun and free!)
Freekibblekat receives 100's of emails from shelters and rescue groups across the country needing food for their hungry cats. The Freekibblekat HI-5 event is a way to donate more kibble to those groups working so hard to feed their homeless cats a nutritious meal.
Halo, Purely for Pets, is generously sponsoring this event with no limit on the kibble, so tell your friends... blog it... tweet it... post it on facebook... text it... email it... yell it out... let's feed some cats!

Go here to donate some kibble! You can always find the link on the sidebar here at Two Kitties and a Puppy, so make sure you come back to play every day! So next time you're looking for online life insurance or goofing around on Facebook, be sure to pop over and feed some homeless kitties some kibble. Oh and this works for dogs too - go to Freekibble.com.

Commercial

2010-01-31T10:06:00.000-05:00

This commercial cracks me up. I could totally see myself doing this, since I can hardly see any details when I'm not wearing my contacts or glasses.

Stopover in Savannah

2010-01-30T18:56:00.003-05:00

Before we headed down to my parents' house in Orlando for Christmas, my mom warned me that one of the roads along the route had some emergency construction needed and was closed down to one lane. Since it was two days before Christmas, I anticipated a lot of traffic, and the thought of only having one lane was not very pleasant! I looked at alternate routes, and realized that if we went a different highway along the coast, we would go through Savannah, GA, which is one of our favorite cities. Because this detour would make the trip a bit longer, we decided to leave after my husband finished work, drive to Savannah, stay the night, and then finish our trip the next day.

Since we had the cats with us, I needed to find a hotel that allowed pets. I found this site, BringFido, incredibly helpful. They had a nice map with hotels, plus the costs and reviews. I used the map to find a hotel that was close to the highway since we were just staying overnight and not really spending much time in Savannah. We ended up staying in La Quinta Inn. The price was great, and there was no pet fee! I was skeptical – seemed too good to be true – but the accommodations were pleasant. The sink area was even big enough to put the catbox without it getting in the way, and keeping it on the tile flooring. (Big thumbs up!) I would recommend this hotel to other pet owners traveling in Savannah.

The kitties did great in their first time in a hotel room. One thing I loved – the beds came all the way to the ground, so they couldn't hide under them. Very useful. :-) I'm sure they appreciated the break from being in the car, and settled quite well. (By the way, this hotel review is completely unsolicited.)

If you're traveling with your pet, I highly recommend BringFido for any information you might need.

* This post is a completely unsolicited opinion about my experience with BringFido and La Quinta Inn.

Pet Dental Health

2010-01-30T12:29:00.003-05:00

February is Pet Dental Health month.

More than 8 out of 10 dogs and 7 out of 10 cats show signs of poor dental health by the age of three.
Dental problems in pets – as in people – can lead to pain, tooth loss, periodontal disease, and increased bacteria in the bloodstream.
Pets' oral disease worsens with time and can result in damage to internal organs (heart, liver and kidneys).

Many owners don't realize the importance of their pet's dental health. Their focus is often on proper nutrition, exercise, and finding the best muscle building supplement. However, it's not something that is okay to ignore - if you take good care of your pet's teeth, then you really help your pet live a longer and healthier life. Here are some ways you can do that (taken from this site):

Take your pet to the veterinarian for a dental exam. Don’t wait for his annual checkup if you suspect a problem.
Begin a dental care regimen at home. Your veterinarian can suggest steps that may include brushing your pet's teeth. One of the most convenient and effective ways to combat oral disease is feeding specially formulated foods proven effective in combating plaque and tartar buildup. The Seal of Acceptance from the Veterinary Oral Health Council, an organization initiated by the American Veterinary Dental Society to guide consumers, appears on products that meet defined standards for plaque and tartar control in dogs and cats. For further information on the VOHC or their product standards, visit www.vohc.org.
Schedule regular veterinary checkups. These are essential in helping your veterinarian monitor the progress of your pet's dental health routine. Your veterinary health care team can help you schedule the appropriate visits.

For more information on pet dental care and National Pet Dental Health Month, visit www.petdental.com.

Pets and holidays

2010-01-03T19:32:00.002-05:00

I'm a little late with this... I got the following in an email that our vet sent out right before Christmas, and I thought it was a really good reminder!

What does every cat want most this holiday season? The same thing he or she probably wants most every day: YOU.

Food and treats fill a furry stomach, toys help to pass the time, a cozy bed makes naptime oh so comfy, but at the end of the day—or first thing in the morning!—those padding paws come looking for you.

This busy holiday season, make sure you give the gift of time to your cat. Toys and treats are great, but it's your love and attention that will make your feline friend's holidays the brightest while everything else is at its busiest. As we head into this hectic time of year, with all its parties, presents, and pressures, be sure to take time out on a busy day to sit on the couch and rub those well-loved ears.

And did you know that you can also give yourself a gift of time this year, too? The gift of more time with your beloved companion! You can help us to safeguard your cat's well being in order to make sure he or she lives the longest, healthiest life possible by following all the important preventive health care recommendations. We'll be communicating with you the whole year through to help keep you on top of your cat's routine health care needs, like regular veterinary visits, dental exams, parasite control, and any necessary vaccinations.

That's because we know that when everyone in the family – four footed as well as two footed—is happy and healthy, it can make every day seem like a holiday!

I was glad to get this reminder, and tried to make sure I wasn't ignoring Lewis and Ebony this Christmas (especially since much of the attention was on the new baby). They should sell textbooks with this advice!

Cats on Twitter

2009-12-19T01:24:00.003-05:00

My husband enjoys Instructables.com, and today he sent me a fun link. Here's a description from the site:

Give your cat a Twitter account and have her post updates automatically whenever she sits down on her bed or when she leaves her bed. In addition, capture pictures of your cat when she's on her bed and upload those as well so you can keep tabs on her antics while you're away from home.

In this instructable, I'll walk you through the process of
* building a cat sensor out of a simple momentary switch, foam core and foam strips
* reading the cat sensor on your Mac or PC using Arduino and Processing
* automatically posting status updates to Twitter when your cat takes a nap or wakes back up
* taking pictures of your cat on the bed with a webcam and uploading the pictures to a webserver

Want to see a twittering cat in action? Follow @zooooey on Twitter.

Maybe when my husband wants a new project, I'll see if I can convince him to set this up for our kitties. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the link and fat burner reviews. :-)

Dinner

2009-12-04T11:12:00.000-05:00

Someone sent me this and I thought it was great!

Back to Atlanta

2009-12-03T14:07:00.002-05:00

We traveled back from Orlando to Atlanta last weekend after a nice and refreshing break. We had a really nice Thanksgiving dinner, where I had seconds and even thirds... I'm going to have to go on a weight loss diet soon!

The kitties loved their time in the warmer weather, spending much of their time on the porch where they could see the ducks, birds, and squirrels and chase bugs and geckos.

Coming back to Atlanta, we had the cats loose in the car again. Lewis in his usual fashion curled up between the front two seats and stayed there the entire trip. The car doesn't seem to bother him at all. Ebony, on the other hand, was another story. She cried and cried for 2 hours after we left Orlando. She kept pacing around the car and driving me nuts (I was driving). Finally, I pulled off the highway to a Walmart and picked up a cat crate. We have a soft-sided carrier for them, but I was worried that it wouldn't be a comfortable place to leave them for a long period of time. I thought perhaps she would feel more at ease in the crate. At the very least, it would keep her from getting in my way as I'm driving.

She still cried, but I felt that they weren't so desperate of cries. We'll definitely use the crate for her in the future. Lewis does fine without it, so I'm not sure we'll get one for him (it's a small crate, only big enough for one cat).

Next time we go on a long trip with the cats, we're going to try and get some sedatives to at least take the edge off. Poor kitty.

Adventures in Orlando

2009-11-25T10:55:00.002-05:00

The kitties really love visiting Orlando!

They have been spending a lot of time on the big porch. They can see all sorts of animals from the porch - geckos, birds, squirrels, ducks, bugs, etc. They certainly love "hunting" and following their natural instincts! :-)

The cats have already brought two geckos inside.

Lewis was chasing a gecko on the porch, and the gecko ran up the screen. Lewis followed. :-)

The second night we were here, Lewis got shut into my parents' room for the night. I noticed he was gone and was really worried. I figured out the last time I'd seen Lewis was right before my parents went to bed, so I went to bed telling myself that he was probably just in their room and not lost outside somewhere! You can imagine my relief the next morning when my parents woke up, let Lewis out, and he came to remind me that it was breakfast time.

Believe it or not, he was closed in their room again last night too. Sneaky cat! We think he's hiding in the closet, among the clothes and Christian Louboutin shoes. We'll have to do a better job of checking tonight.

Visiting Orlando

2009-11-25T10:34:00.002-05:00

I'm typing this from Orlando, where we're visiting my parents for Thanksgiving! It's the baby's first Thanksgiving, so her grandparents are excited that we came. I have always brought the cats with me when coming to my parents house, and this time was no different. It was the first time we traveled in the car with me, my husband, the baby, and Lewis and Ebony.

It was funny - the cats kept climbing into the carseat to look out the window. The baby didn't seem to notice at all, but I chased them out anyway. I thought it was funny.

Lewis and Ebony drove me nuts in the car. My husband said they weren't acting any different than normal, so I wonder if I am just short of patience with them. My parents offered me their dog's old crate for us to contain the cats when going back to Atlanta after Thanksgiving.

I normally let the cats have free run in the car, but after writing this post last May, I began to wonder if that's the wisest choice. I don't want them to cause an accident and then having to rely on things like social security disability. We'll have to talk about it more before we leave.

Lewis and Ebony

2009-11-05T14:19:00.001-05:00

Some recent pictures of Lewis and Ebony.

Happy puppies

2009-11-05T12:17:00.002-05:00

Someone sent me this video yesterday and I couldn't help but smile.

The caption:
"My Dogs greeting me after returning from 14 months in Iraq"

Animal control

2009-11-04T11:07:00.002-05:00

So more on the dogs next door...

They bark. A lot. (Or, rather, one of them barks.)

I actually feel bad for them. They're in their little deck all day; I never see anyone out there with them. I see them out there all the time, rain or shine, cold or hot. They really deserve better than they're getting.

I decided to call animal services yesterday using my unlocked phone (our county has anti-tethering laws, and the husky is chained up).

Basically, they told me off. They said that as long as the owner himself wasn't abusing them, there wasn't anything they could do.

I told them about the dogs fighting, about the husky bleeding, about how the husky was tied up and the pit bull wasn't. Animal Control told me that dogs fight - that's just what they do.

I was disappointed. Now what?

Bay window

2009-11-03T14:19:00.006-05:00

One of my favorite features of our new house is the bay window in the front room. It looks out to the street, and there are lots of birds and squirrels who enjoy our front yard.

I'd like to get a bird feeder and a bird bath for the front yard. Not so much for the birds, but rather for the kitties to be able to watch the birds. I'm mean. :-)

As you can see from the picture, there is a good sized window sill where they can relax. I put a pillow there for their sake, although it's really only big enough for one cat. I've debated about getting a second pillow or perhaps making one that will cover the entire space. (It's trapezoidal in shape.) The afternoon sun streams in and the kitties sprawl out there, soaking in the rays. They almost always are there in the window when we return home after being gone. Usually, we can see Lewis because of his white fur, but only Ebony's eyes if we're looking.

Right now, we have some pie pumpkins sitting in the window waiting to be made into pies. Seeing Ebony laying next to the pumpkins just seems appropriate - I love the contrast in colors, and how fall-ish!

I think Lewis and Ebony consider themselves in kitty heaven with this window. No amount of loose diamonds could make them give it up! Hey, it's the least I could do, right?

Approaching holidays

2009-11-03T14:03:00.004-05:00

Now that it's November and the weather has turned chilly, I have been getting exciting about the upcoming holidays! It will be our first Thanksgiving and Christmas with a child, and I think kids always add a new, fun element to holidays.

I was thinking this year we would do christmas photo cards to show off our baby and perhaps our new house. I am trying to line up a photographer to take the pictures, and this morning my husband and I were discussing what might be a good backdrop.

The thought crossed my mind that in previous years, we have always attempted Christmas pictures with Lewis and Ebony. We are usually unsuccessful at getting them to cooperate, so we've never actually sent out cards. I wondered if we should try and get a family picture this year with the cats. If I could figure out how to get them to sit on our laps then I might try it... but as it is, they usually are more interested in escaping. Oh well.

Baby + kitties

2009-10-05T12:01:00.003-04:00

It's been 6 weeks since our baby arrived and we passed around the White Owl cigars. I was anxious about how the cats would respond to a new member of the family, especially a member that makes loud noises, takes our attention, and does not feed them!

So far they've adjusted rather well. They definitely have gotten the short end of the stick as far as attention goes, and that makes me sad. I am trying to be better about that, but it's difficult when I have a baby on my lap and all the cats want to do is crawl into my lap as well.

Ebony has become extremely needy and desperately wants on our laps and to be petted all the time. She had her moments before, but now it's all the time. She'll even do it to visitors, which is very unusual for her!

They don't seem to understand that they can't step on the baby, which actually makes me laugh. I try very hard to be conscious of when I am pushing them away (I don't want to push them away every single time the baby is around, or they will associate being "rejected" with the baby). However, I have to gently remove them when they want to sit on the baby. :-)

The other day, the baby and I were on my bed taking an afternoon nap. It was getting close to 5pm, which is the cats' dinner time. Lewis decided to wake me up in his usual fashion of cuddling up with me. However, in his rolling around he rolled on top of the baby, waking her up and making her cry. I thought that was a little funny. Generally, though, the cats avoid the baby and don't try to get in the crib with her or sleep next to her, so I don't worry about them smothering her.

We'll see how they react when the baby is crawling around and going after kitty tails. :-)

Unchain your dog

2009-10-05T11:36:00.003-04:00

When I was at the vet the other day, I saw a sign saying that as of last month, chaining/tethering your dog is now prohibited in Fulton County. I haven't thought through the issue of chaining in detail, but my initial thought is yes! I'm glad. It makes me sad to see dogs chained up, especially when the chain is so short.

It really bothers me that the dog next door is chained. The county we live in has had a ban on tethering dogs since 2005. All morning, that husky has been howling and pulling at his chain. It makes me sad because it's been raining and he has no way to get out of the rain.

Seeing that it's illegal, I'm not sure if I should report it. I am torn between wanting to be a good neighbor, and wanting to see an animal treated right. I'm also slightly concerned about raising a family and having cats with two potentially dangerous animals next door. (Though, you could argue, that they are enclosed within two fences and chained, so the dogs are unlikely to get out.)

I was reading through the site UnchainYourDog.org all about why tethering dogs is bad for them. It makes me sad that this is an issue. It makes me sad to look at the dog next door and see him chained up. (The way our houses are positioned, the backside of my house looks into the neighbor's backyard, so I have a clear view of the dogs. Hence, why I see it so often and why it continues to bother me.)

I know that one option would be to go and talk to the neighbors and perhaps try to explain to them that tethering is illegal. However, I am not sure I could muster up that much courage. And I'm not sure I want my first interaction with them to be about something negative. They might blow me off as a salesperson trying to sell life insurance rates. Sigh.

Dog fights

2009-09-17T23:36:00.003-04:00

So my neighbors have a weird setup in their backyard. They have a raised deck (completely separate from the house) where they keep two dogs - an unneutered male pit bull and a husky. The dogs can't get off the deck, and it just seems a cruel way to keep one's dogs! That was a red strike against the house for us, but we decided to buy it anyways.

Today I arrived at the house in the afternoon to hear lots of growling and yelping. I ran to the backyard and looked into my neighbor's yard. The dogs were fighting - the pit bull was on top of the husky, and the husky was yelping. They did this for a while, then stopped for a while. This happened three separate times. The last time I was getting really concerned. The husky was bleeding from the neck, which is where the pit bull had sunk his teeth. The husky was tied up, and was trying really hard to get away from the other dog.

My heart broke for the husky. I decided to call animal services, but they were closed for the day.

I don't want to make enemies of our neighbors right after we move in, but I can't ignore fighting dogs like that. :-( With all the dog fighting and pit bulls that are in the news, I definitely don't want that next door to me.

So we'll see what happens. If I see blood again, I will call animal services. Maybe next time it will be during the hours they're open!

Porch kitties

2009-08-19T11:00:00.000-04:00

We live in an apartment on the second floor, with a nice big porch overlooking trees and other pretty greenery. Lewis and Ebony are the least-adventurous, most clumsy cats I've ever had, which does have its advantages. The main one being that they are not climbers or risk-takers. So, I can let them on the porch without worrying about them jumping off, even if they see a squirrel or a bird!

I really like fresh air so I usually open the porch door during the mornings before it gets hot. We keep our thermostat on the high side - usually around 80 - so I try to leave the door open until the A/C turns on. Fortunately, it hasn't been quite as humid this summer so most days I'm able to have the door open a few hours.

Lewis and Ebony love going out on the porch. Lewis has now learned a new trick: if he goes to the door and starts crying, I will open the door for him and he can hang out on the porch. Now that he's discovered this power, he loves to wield it. He also especially likes to use it when I'd rather the door be closed - as in, during the heat of the day when the westward sun is shining full-on. I think he just likes making me do things.

The days I miss

2009-08-17T17:27:00.003-04:00

I fed the cats their dinner today. They looked at me, looked at the food, and walked away. Sigh.

I miss the old days. I miss the days when they would cry for their food. I miss the days when I'd put the food in the bowls and they'd gobble it up hungrily. I miss the days when the bowls would pretty much be cleaned out right after I fed them.

I would totally take two fat cats over their current issues - whatever those issues are.

We currently feed them each 1/8 cup of Natural Balance dry kibble food in the mornings. In the evenings, we give them 1/8 cup of the same. We also give them each 1/8 can each of Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover's Soul canned food.

Ebony loves the wet food. She gobbles it up then hovers around Lewis. Lewis eats about half and then starts pawing at it as if he's trying to bury it. He actually makes quite the mess, tipping over his dry food and water bowls all at the same time. He won't stop until we manually remove the plate of wet food from him. (He doesn't respond to loud noises or when we call his name, or even if we toss things in his direction.)

I feel like we give them so little food, but they don't finish it. We have never free-fed them, so they shouldn't be used to coming back for it later. We were hoping that the wet food would encourage Lewis to eat more, but it doesn't seem to be working.

We tried getting a new container that was air-tight to keep the food fresh longer. We buy 6 lb bags, so it's not like we buy a really big bag and keep it forever. The guy at the pet shop asked if we lived in manufactured homes or kept the food in a garage, but we don't - we keep it in our apartment living room.

Like I said, I miss the days when feeding them wasn't a hassle. I miss just putting food out and having them eat it. I miss not having to monitor them to make sure Ebony doesn't steal Lewis' food and that Lewis doesn't tip over all his bowls.

Sigh.

Rubber band-it

2009-08-16T15:13:00.003-04:00

A month or so ago, a group of friends threw a baby shower for me and our expectant little one who should be making her appearance in just a few weeks. One of the gifts was a beautifully done diaper cake. When I went to take it apart, I realized that each diaper had been rolled and held together with a rubber band, and the "layers" were secured with bigger rubber bands.

I took off all the rubber bands and put them in a pencil holder on a bookshelf where I keep all my office supplies. Since it was on the bookcase, I didn't think much about cat-proofing.

Lewis, you see, LOVES rubber bands. He likes to consume them, then regurgitate them later because - well, rubber bands are not meant to be eaten by little kitties. He does this with normal office-y rubber bands, and also the kind that you wear in your hair.

Today when we got home we found rubber bands all over the floor. Apparently Lewis had discovered the stash. I'm still slightly confused about that one, as it was in a bookcase where he didn't have easy access. It was as if he knew the rubber bands were there and went for them - like they were candy or cat treats.

We picked up all the ones on the floor and we buried them deep in the bookcase so he can't get to them now. I rolled the smaller rubber bands into a rubber band ball and I'll stick that in the junk drawer in the kitchen. I don't know what it is that makes him always want to eat it! Maybe there's a certain taste that appeals to him. I hope this means the end of the hacked-up surprises we find or we're going to have to find some dental discounts!

Lost dog is a hero

2009-08-15T23:44:00.004-04:00

I thought this was a cool story.

Lost Dog Saves Man With Down Syndrome From Nearly Fatal Seizure

Recently, a woman named Yolanda in Florida had a neighbor give her a dog he had found. The neighbor asked Yolanda to care for the dog while they looked for his owner. Yolanda agreed, and they put up fliers and posted ads on Craigslist trying to find the owner. (By the way, Craigslist is a great place to post ads if you either find or lose a pet. It's also a great place to buy or sell things, anywhere from sofas to Mp3 players to kitchen sinks.) Yolanda had two sons, including one with Down Syndrome named Christian, who both warmed up to the dog.

Four days passed and no one had contacted her about the dog. However, the dog knew how to guarantee himself a home:

Christian retreated to his room to watch a Barney video. The dog dozed beside him.

Yolanda had just stepped onto her porch to water the plants when the dog flung himself into the screen door, barking madly.

As she opened the door, the dog sprinted across the living room, into the boys' room.

Yolanda screamed. Christian was slumped over, his body writhing in a seizure, blood streaming from his nose and mouth.

The dog ran to the boy, still yelping. But as soon as Yolanda bent to cradle her son, the dog went silent.

"If he hadn't come to get me," Yolanda told Stacey later, "the neurologist said Christian would have choked on his own blood and died."

The next day the dog's owner called the number he'd seen on the flier. He came to pick up the dog, but upon hearing the story about how the dog saved Christian's life, he offered for Yolanda to keep the dog. So overall a happy ending. :-)

Wagon kitty

2009-08-14T20:02:00.002-04:00

My friend Beth over at The Natural Mommy took this picture and sent it to me. I thought it was a fabulous photograph! I hope you enjoy it too.

Comic

2009-08-11T15:04:00.005-04:00

(Click to see bigger)

From the strip Pickles by Brian Crane

Talking beagle

2009-08-06T23:19:00.002-04:00

You know me, I am all about those beagles. Especially beagle puppies. Here is a particularly cute puppy, though I'm sure in a few months that cute little howl won't be so cute or little anymore! :-)

Gotta love kitties

2009-08-05T23:06:00.002-04:00

So, story for today about Lewis and Ebony.

A while ago I got a diaper changing pad for the baby that I set on the bathroom counter (without taking it out of the plastic wrap that it came in). One day I had hurriedly threw one of my cloth diapers on top before leaving to go somewhere. Some time later, I noticed it was slightly yellowish. I wasn’t sure what this meant until my mom came to visit, gave it a sniff, and said that it definitely smelled of cat urine. (For some reason, I could identify an unusual smell but I couldn't place it as cat urine.) I was happy that it all came out in the wash and I can’t even tell which of my 13 cloth diapers has already been used. :-) I guess those things were *made* to be peed on. Just, not by cats.

Anyways, a few days ago I lifted up the changing pad to take the plastic wrap off it when I realized that the cat pee had gotten underneath... and had sat there for probably about a month. Sooo... even though it’s a counter top, it reeks. And it’s slightly stained. :-/ My husband washed it really well and we have kept the counter clear of any items including the receipt printer in an attempt to air it out. (Thank goodness that the changing pad is not damaged whatsoever! I'm glad I left that plastic wrap on.) I have been spraying Nature's Miracle on it every day, and that combined with airing out the area seem to be helping. Thank goodness!

Kitties. Gotta love 'em. :-)

Most recently, about Lewis

2009-07-25T19:15:00.003-04:00

Life has been a whirlwind for me lately. To be honest, I really haven't had much time to think about Lewis! He's about the same... acts normal except he won't finish his dinner and he's still pretty thin. Ebony on the other hand has gained a ton of weight and now picking her up is like picking up a sack of bricks. I need to put her on a diet, but how does someone put one cat on a diet and encourage the other cat to eat more?? I'm sure I'll figure it out.

We did some bloodwork to test for thyroid cancer, and it came back negative. The vet also did a number of x-rays and said there were no abnormalities. His ionized calcium is still high, though, which is a sign of cancer I'm told. So we're all quite perplexed.

I got an email from the vet a few days ago, which said:

I talked with Dr. Hamilton re: Lewis and the high Calcium. Dr. Hamilton is the veterinary oncologist at Georgia Veterinary Specialists. His advice is to pursue diagnosis as long as he is showing clinical signs (decreased appetite, weight loss). He said that many cats can be "idiopathic" hypercalcemia (high calcium for no apparent reason affecting the health) but have no symptoms. Lymphoma is the most common cancer cause of the high calcium. An abdominal ultrasound would be the next step from the blood work and even endoscopy for biopsy. I do not have an ultrasound or endoscopy. I either refer these cases to the specialist, or Dr. Avgeris (internal medicine specialist) comes here with her ultrasound and endoscopy equipment. Please call me to discuss or schedule.

I'm not sure where to go from here, because in my mind "specialist" means "expensive". I'll probably write more about that later, but that's where we are now. Maybe I should look into affordable health insurance for pets... ;-)

Pet photography

2009-07-18T12:27:00.002-04:00

I came across this link (courtesy of A Dusty Frame) and thought it might be valuable to share here. :-) From Digital Photography School, here are 9 Pet Photography Tips. It's worth a read-through, and there are more tips in the comments. Happy shutter snapping! :-)

Here are some of my favorite pictures of my pets. I look forward to incorporating some of the tips from that site in future pictures. :-) You can see all my animal pictures on my Flickr account here.

Wrapped around her little paw

2009-07-14T12:55:00.002-04:00

When Lewis and Ebony were about 7 months old, I moved into my first apartment, and established a routine. I'd get home from work around 6pm, pet them and then feed them. Ebony would jump on the bed and roll around on her back. I would exclaim how cute she was and rub her tummy and give her attention. I noticed that she started to do that anytime she wanted something - not just at dinnertime. I guess she figured out how to get on my good side.

So when I saw this article last night, I wasn't surprised at all. An excerpt from "Cats 'exploit' humans by purring":

Cat owners may have suspected as much, but it seems our feline friends have found a way to manipulate us humans.

Researchers at the University of Sussex have discovered that cats use a "soliciting purr" to overpower their owners and garner attention and food.

Unlike regular purring, this sound incorporates a "cry", with a similar frequency to a human baby's.

The team said cats have "tapped into" a human bias - producing a sound that humans find very difficult to ignore.

According to the study, this is something kitties do on purpose to manipulate their owners.

Dr McComb said that the cry occurs at a low level in cats' normal purring. "But we think that (they) learn to dramatically exaggerate it when it proves effective in generating a response from humans."

She added that the trait seemed to most often develop in cats that have a one-on-one relationship with their owners.

"Obviously we don't know what's going on inside their minds," said Dr McComb. "But they learn how to do this, and then they do it quite deliberately."

It makes me laugh. My cats have me wrapped around their little paws; I'll admit it. But, I am a pretty strict owner who doesn't feed them early because of little purrs. So I guess their purrs don't COMPLETELY work on me. :-)

Links for today

2009-07-11T07:41:00.002-04:00

I was going to try and write up a blog post for each of these, but I think a list is going to have to do. :-)

More airlines embracing furry travelers
More airlines are allowing people to fly with their cats and dogs inside the plane's cabin. In fact, one man talked about buying a seat for his dog and just walking on board with him! He said that the dog can check a bag and is allowed to bring "personal items" on board (blanket, dog dish). Other airlines require the animals be crated.

While I like the idea of making traveling with a pet easier, my initial response is, "What about the many people with allergies?" The airlines claim this isn't a problem usually and that they work with people who have allergies. I am surprised at this - I feel like every other person I try to invite to my house can't come due to being allergic to cats! (It's definitely much worse here in the States than in Peru, the country where I grew up.)

Fugitive Llamas Back On Farm
Okay not the most well-written article, but it was funny to read. And I like llamas.

In the market for a new cat? Consider a Certified Pre-Owned Cat!
A marketing spin put on by the Humane Society of Indianapolis: encouraging people to buy "pre-owned cats". I thought it was quite humorous and creative! From the site: "Take a quality cat home today for one low 0% APR payment ($50 - $135, depending on model) and get the following options at no extra charge!" They are "made in Indiana" (for those who prefer to buy locally) and are a good investment - "Unlike other mobile investments, your HSI cat will increase in value as soon as you drive it home." Also, for the environmentally conscious: "Small engines = low fuel costs". I enjoyed reading this and now I want to go get another kitty. From Georgia, of course - trying to buy locally. ;-)

Laser pointers

2009-07-08T15:14:00.002-04:00

We just bought a laser pointer to play with Lewis. (Well, Ebony too, but she's not very interested.) It's so cute to watch him attack the red dot that's moving mysteriously near him...

see more Lol Celebs

Those spoiled cats

2009-07-07T10:31:00.004-04:00

Shortly after I got my cats (over 4 years ago now), I bought a big container of cat food from Costco. It was a nice container, so I've just kept it around and been refilling it when it's empty. It latches fairly well, without being too difficult for us to open when we need it. However, occasionally the cats are able to knock over the container and get the latch open and have an all-you-can-eat buffet.

They did that the other night. My husband and I were in the bedroom and we heard the noise of the container, and my husband went out to investigate. It had taken them (or, I should say, Ebony - because she is almost always the culprit) almost no time to get the latch open.

Yesterday we were talking about it and I mentioned that the container was over 4 years old and I wonder if the latch was wearing down. And then I wondered if we should go ahead and buy a more airtight container to better keep the dry food from going stale. My husband said, "Yeah I've noticed that when they don't eat is when it's getting towards the bottom."

I said, "Interesting. I noticed that some of their eating issues started when we switched them from cheap corn food to the more higher-end food. I thought it was because they were getting used to the higher quality, but maybe it's because the cheap foods didn't stale as easily due to the preservatives and chemicals in them." Because, we all know that Twinkies last much longer than freshly baked bread!

So, we decided to get an airtight container, something that sealed and wasn't open like car grills. We walked around Target, but they didn't really have anything big enough for cat food while at the same time being airtight. Finally we decided to go check out The Container Store.

Have you ever been there? It's an awesome store - full of all the containers and organizing tools you could ever want! I like browsing around there, but their prices are a little on the high side so I don't often buy anything there.

We found exactly what we wanted there and we decided to go ahead and spend the money. They had two sizes of pet food containers, and we opted for the smaller size that holds about 20 lbs. of dry cat food. We probably could have even gone smaller, if they had had a smaller size. It's tall and narrow, so it fits well in the space we have for it.

I will be curious to see if the kitties seem to notice the air-tightness. I hope they appreciate it! Spoiled little babies. :-)

Lewis update: still waiting

2009-07-02T20:20:00.005-04:00

We got a Pack N Play for the baby yesterday, and Lewis and Ebony have decided we actually got it for them. One of the two spent a majority of the day sleeping in it.

I couldn't get any pictures of Lewis sleeping, because he lifted his head anytime I moved from the computer chair. (I put the doll there to demonstrate to my husband how the Pack N Play was to be used, and also how the new cloth diapers I bought worked.)

I received a call from the vet and it seems that we are still waiting for the results of Lewis' bloodwork. Apparently, they had a pathologist look at the results and they are waiting for the pathologist's report. I'm not sure what exactly this means - if it's a good sign or bad sign. I'm not even sure what is likely to happen at this point - surgery, diet change, or medication like Stimerex ES? They promised that we'll know more next week. Let's hope so!

Baby red pandas

2009-06-30T23:55:00.004-04:00

The Red River Zoo is a zoo up in Fargo, North Dakota. They have a red panda exhibit there, and something amazing happened almost 3 weeks ago: the red panda Shan Tou became a mommy to triplets! Three baby red pandas were born, which is extremely rare.

Their progress is being detailed on the Red Panda blog. You can see cute pictures and videos. Here are some highlights:

So cute! I love red pandas. I look forward to the babies getting a bit bigger and seeing videos of them moving about and playing!

poisonous plants

2009-06-30T21:00:00.005-04:00

The other day, Lewis threw up in the living room (thankfully, not on my Naot sandals!). I investigated and saw something a little odd for an indoor cat - dirt, tiny branches, and small leaves. Hmm. I'm not sure where they came from, but I have two suspicions. One, from our porch - there are some dead leaves on there left over from last fall. I could see him getting into those.

The other possibility is one of my potted plants. (However, doesn't explain the leaves or sticks.) I have noticed that one of the cats (probably Lewis) has been getting into the pot. The plant has been sitting on the end table in our living room and occasionally I'll find bits of dirt around the pot on the table. None of the leaves have been damaged, and the dirt has been just lightly messed with so I didn't think anything of it. However, a friend wondered aloud to me if the plant might be getting Lewis sick.

The plant is called Devil's Ivy (scientific name: Pothos). After looking it up, I see that yes - yes it is toxic to cats! Great. I've had this plant for 3+ years now and I never knew! It's listed on ASPCA's "17 Common Poisonous Plants". Pet owners should check out the list to make sure they don't have any toxic plants around!

I called the vet to tell her about the plant, but she said that if the cats aren't getting into the plant itself then it's probably not the cause. But I'm glad it's on Lewis' file as a possibility, though. I'm going to call tomorrow and see if they got the results from the thyroid tumor blood test that he had last week. As of yesterday, they hadn't heard back from the lab yet. I hope we find out soon. :-/

My Devil's Ivy can be hung, so I'm going to try that to keep it away from the kitties. However, we might be moving soon so I don't want to bother hanging it until we're a bit settled. So I'm trying to find a plant sitter in the meantime.

Take Your Dog to Work Day

2009-06-25T13:54:00.005-04:00

Tomorrow is "Take Your Dog to Work Day"! According to the website that sponsors this:

"First celebrated in 1999, Take Your Dog To Work Day was created to celebrate the great companions dogs make and to encourage their adoption from humane societies, animal shelters and breed rescue clubs. This annual event encourages employers to experience the value of pets in their workplace for this one special day to promote pet adoptions.

"On June 26, 2009, businesses, animal shelters and pet-care professionals from around the world will work together to better the lives of shelter dogs everywhere. Thousands of businesses will open their doors to employees’ pets on this day in celebration of the great companions dogs make."

This sounds like fun to me, though I don't have a dog anymore. When we first got Zoey, I brought her to work with me for the first month or so that we had her. That was a lot of fun, and people seemed to really enjoy having her there! Of course it was only temporary - once she got old enough I left her at home and came home at lunch to take her on a short walk. We always talked about having a "Take Your Dog to Work Day". Too bad I didn't know about this then - it would have been fun to try and implement! (There were a lot of dog lovers at my company at the time.)

Other companies are getting into this too. If you live in Stanleyville, NC, Chick-fil-A is offering free "Waggy Deals" for your dog tomorrow if they come through the drive-through. You can see more stuff like this if you check out Take Your Dog's Twitter page.

Of course not everyone thinks this is a good idea. I came across this article written by someone who dislikes the concept.

If you bring your dog to work tomorrow, you can upload pictures to Flickr with the tag "dogsatwork". You can also browse everyone's pictures here.

Fishy fishy

2009-06-25T11:45:00.002-04:00

My husband sent me this link today. It's a how-to for knitting cute little fish!

I don't know how to knit, but I wish I did! These would make awesome cat toys! You just stuff them with a little catnip and kitties would go nuts! And it seems like a great thing to do with extra yarn. (I'm assuming. Since I don't know how to knit, I don't actually know if that's a problem - leftover yarn in weird colors.)

I sent the link to my mom, who DOES know how to knit, and she offered to teach me so that I could make these. She told me that Lewis and Ebony would love the process of me knitting - chasing the yarn as I try to stitch. (Hmmm...)

I have too many projects on my plate to add knitting to them, so I'll just hold out for someone else to start making the fishies. They sure are cute, aren't they?

monday morning

2009-06-19T11:05:00.003-04:00

I was supposed to take Lewis to the vet this morning, but I got a call earlier from the vet. Apparently the person who took my appointment didn't realize (and therefore didn't tell me) that this test requires Lewis to fast before. And, of course, Lewis has had breakfast, so we rescheduled the appointment for Monday.

I told the vet she didn't know what she was asking! I'll have to take up the food at 9pm the night before and they won't be able to eat again until Lewis has his test. (It makes the most sense for Ebony to fast, too, because there isn't a way I can separate them.)

Oh my gosh, do you *know* how hard it's going to be come Monday morning around 5am when we DON'T get up to feed the kitties breakfast?

Oh don't get me wrong... I really want Lewis to get better. :-) Just... without the insistent meowing in the middle of the night...

how CAT-like!

2009-06-16T11:17:00.003-04:00

I love icanhascheezburger. I go there every day. I spent today catching up on all the ones I missed while I was on vacation, and I especially appreciated this one!

I love cats. :-)

update on Lewis

2009-06-16T09:38:00.004-04:00

Shortly after I took Lewis to the vet, I went out of town for 11 days. I did get an email from the vet saying that one of the blood tests came back okay, so that was good, but they were waiting for the other one. Then a week went by and I didn't hear from the vet, but to be honest with all the busyness and traveling I really didn't have time to think about it! So after getting home yesterday, I called the vet to ask if they got the results from the other test.

Basically, one of the tests was going to indicate some issues with the kidney. Those came back fine - he does have a *slight* elevation in levels, but that doesn't indicate kidney issues right now.

The other test was an ionized calcium test which is heightened calcium in his blood. That is usually caused by cancer. Lewis is only 4 1/2, and it's very rare to find cancer in a cat this young, though the vet has seen it before. Right now, there are two possibilities that we need to do further tests. One is that he has a thyroid tumor. We have to do a test for that specifically, and if it's the issue he'll need surgery. The other is that he has cancer or a tumor, and they want to do x-rays and scans on his body to see if they can find out where.

A third possibility is that it's purely behavioral. She asked if we had any major changes happen recently. I said things have been pretty normal around here except for the fact that I'm pregnant. I don't feel that I'm acting any differently, but I don't know what the cats can sense. The vet said that because his calcium levels are high, it probably is more than just a behavioral problem. I expressed concern about figuring out what's going on with Lewis earlier than later, because after the baby comes in September our whole house will be turned upsidedown.

I asked if we only did one, which one should we do, and the vet recommended the thyroid blood test. So I guess we'll have to make an appointment to get more bloodwork done, poor baby.

I need to add going to the vet to my to do list. It's getting long because I was gone for almost 2 weeks. :-) It'll have to go above "getting auto insurance quotes" and under "return books to library".

Spunky

2009-06-12T17:18:00.005-04:00

My family got Spunky back in 1998, eleven years ago. She was a tiny puppy, and her mother's owner tied a little pink ribbon around her neck when we arrived to pick up our new family member. We were, of course, so excited to get a puppy! We quickly learned, however, the downsides of having a puppy, including potty training and her frequent crying/whining. :-) It took me a long time to warm up to her because she was a dog, but I really did have a special place in my heart for her.

We got her when we lived in South America, and when we moved to the States in 2001 we brought her on the plane with us. She loved the States - it was such a good move for her. She mellowed out, and enjoyed having access to a yard where she could run and run and not be leashed.

The past few months, Spunky's health has been failing. It's mostly due to her old age, but my parents haven't had the money to run all the tests needed to figure out exactly what was wrong. She had lost a lot of weight from simply not eating, and not because she was on a diet or Phenphedrine or anything. I got an email from my mom this morning:

Just wanted to let you all know that this morning we took Spunky to the animal shelter for her eternal rest. We took her to the vet on Monday, and after doing a blood test he said she probably had cancer. She has not been eating (had lost about 1/4 of her weight in the last year), and was lethargic and often breathing heavy. They gave us special food for her, but we made the decision if she couldn’t eat, or hold down her food, we would know it was time. That happened this week, so we took her in today.

I know that the loss isn't as hard on me as it is on my family, but I couldn't help but cry this morning. My sister is the hardest hit - it was essentially her dog, and we've had Spunky since my sister was 9. I am very grateful that it was clear to my family that this was the right time for Spunky to go. But, it doesn't make the pain any easier.

Rest in peace, Spunky. We'll miss you.

Going on vacation

2009-06-02T18:38:00.002-04:00

We are leaving this weekend for a bit of a vacation, and we'll be gone for 5 days. I was debating what was the best thing for the cats. I knew their litter box couldn't handle being left completely alone for 5 days, nor did I think that was very fair to them. The only person I know who lives close enough for me to ask them to come in and feed the cats is also going out of town this weekend. All my other friends and previous cat-sitters live in a different area of town, near where we used to live.

I have one friend we've traded cat-sitting over the years we've known each other. It worked out well - we never paid each other, but we were always willing to watch each others' cats when the need arose. She used to have an older cat that at times needed medication, and I remembered that during those times she would hire a cat sitter to come. She felt more confident with a cat sitter who has experience with medicating cats, whereas I've never really had to do that.

So after discussing our options, we decided the best thing to do for this trip was to hire a cat sitter. I got the name and number of my friend's cat sitter, but when I called she said that she wasn't taking on any new clients right now. She did however give me a website that she recommended.

The website is called Georgia Network of Professional Petsitters. You can enter your zip code and it will give you all the pet sitters who are in your area. I used that website to find a sitter (one my friend actually had used once upon a time when her regular cat sitter was on vacation).

The pet sitter came by yesterday to meet the cats and pick up the keys. Hopefully everything works out! It wasn't as expensive as I expected - definitely cheaper than boarding the cats! I'm just hoping right now that Lewis is okay while we're gone and that she doesn't have any problems. At least she's experienced with administering medication if he needs it! You know, if he decides he needs the best acne treatment. ;-)

Lewis

2009-06-02T15:19:00.004-04:00

I've been concerned about Lewis lately. The past couple of months, his appetite has decreased significantly. He stopped finishing his breakfast and dinner. He cries desperately for his food, but doesn't seem to be interested. I tried switching foods, but that didn't seem to help. I tried supplementing wet (canned) food to his dinnertime meal to help encourage him to eat more, but he doesn't even finish that! (I gave him only 1/8 of a can!)

I noticed that he's getting thin, which is unusual. For being such a fat cat, he is all skin and bones now. It's hard to see exactly how much weight he's lost because he still has a lot of loose skin, but I can easily feel his ribs and that seemed to be a little too thin. Combined with his unusual habit of not eating, I decided to take him to the vet.

We're going out of town at the end of this week, so I wanted to get him in before we left. I was glad they had a last-minute cancellation and so I was able to get an appointment for Lewis today.

He's lost 4 lbs since we last had him at the vet, last September. The vet agreed that he did seem thin. She took a blood sample and a urine sample. Then Lewis and I waited while she ran an in-house profile on them.

The results showed abnormalities with the calcium, glucose, and creatinine. I don't understand exactly what all that means... but the vet basically said that it could be the beginnings of a kidney disease, and/or the beginnings of cancer. :-( She took another blood sample to send to an external lab for more analysis, and she's going to get back to me tomorrow or the next day. We'll figure out what to do from there.

I've been kinda in a stupor all day. Poor Lewis... He's very mad at me for being at the vet for 2 hours today. Now's he been a little on the lethargic side, sleeping most of the afternoon. I have alternated between wanting to cry and not wanting to think about it. And then of course I go to an extreme of thinking of all the worst possible scenarios, having only Ebony left, lighting a candle in Lewis' memory... No, I won't let myself go there.

One thing I know is, we definitely need to increase the cat category in our budget! I know both things can be so expensive. :-( I just want my baby to feel better.

500,000 follow Twitter cat

2009-05-24T22:27:00.000-04:00

From CNN Video:
"Sockington the cat has his own Twitter page where he has over half a million followers. WCVB's Jack Harper reports."

Pet stuff on Etsy

2009-05-20T10:34:00.004-04:00

Have you heard of Etsy, an online marketplace for all things handmade? It's a really cool site, where you can find fun and unique items.

Today I was browsing around Etsy and came across the "Pets" category! I hadn't noticed it before, but was immediately hooked. There is also a subcategory for pet lovers, which is the perfect place to find a gift!

Since I haven't bought anything from this category, I can't recommend any particular seller or product. But if you have any positive reviews to make I'd be happy to have you do a guest post!

And while we're on the subject of pet-related items online, I saw this adorable shirt on Cute Overload.

I fell in love. You can get it from Amazon... Also check out the other shirts they have, all adorable!

Packing up the fish tank

2009-05-14T12:45:00.004-04:00

I hadn't touched the fish tank since Zeke died. It made me too sad. For about a month or two, the tank just sat there, devoid of its resident. I had unplugged the filter so the algae started to grow along the sides. Finally I dumped the water out, and let the tank sit a bit longer.

Then we had an overnight guest and I knew I needed to clean the tank. I had made the decision earlier that I wasn't going to get another fish. It makes me really sad - I have really loved having betta fish! And I'll probably get another one someday, just not right now. We have a baby arriving this summer, and I'm sure there will be other priorities on my list besides "cleaning fish tank". Since we don't have a lot of room at our place, it's best that I don't hang on to the fish tank but rather sell or give it away. I've decided to sell it on Craigslist - I've had good luck selling fish tanks there before.

You're not supposed to use soap on fish tanks, so I cleaned it as best I could with just water and a rag. The algae came off readily, and before too long it looked like new. I did wash with soap the parts that the fish didn't touch - the lid, the outside of the tank. But everything else was just wiped down in hot water and left to air dry.

Then I came to the rocks. They are the hardest to clean. I put them in a colander and ran hot water over them until they seemed to fairly clean. Then I was unsure of how to dry them. I didn't want more algae to grow because the rocks were wet. My husband suggested I put them on a pan and bake them in the oven. He pointed out that baking them also might kill any remainder bacteria mesothelioma. So I did that. Put the oven on 400 degrees, and baked my aquarium rocks for 15-20 minutes. That did the trick - they are completely dry now. :-) It seemed silly when I was using oven mitts to pull something out of the oven - rocks. :-)

So now I just need to take some pictures and list the tank on Craigslist. I am going to sell all my other fish supplies along with my tank, which will actually free up some space in the kitchen cabinets which will be nice. Already, the spot where the tank used to sit looks bare! It makes me sad, but I keep telling myself that it's for the best.

Traveling with cats

2009-05-14T11:59:00.003-04:00

My best friend emailed me the other day and asked me for tips about traveling with cats. She's about to move 10 hours away to a new state, and I think this will be the first long trip she's taken with her two cats.

I've taken my cats on a lot of trips, always from Atlanta to Orlando (about 8 hours). I bring my cats with me every time I go visit my family in Orlando which can be several times a year. My family loves my cats, my cats love the geckos and bugs found at my family's house, and I prefer not to leave them alone if I can help it! The first time they did the trip was when they were 7 or 8 months old, so I really don't remember what they were like the first time. (And actually, the very first time they made that trip, I wasn't even with them.)

Here's what I told my best friend.

The safest way to transport your cats in a car is to get a hard-sided airline cat cage, like this one. (I'm not endorsing that particular carrier - it's just an example.) This will protect the cat the most if you get into an accident while traveling. I don't know if these types of carriers can buckle in, but it's probably a good idea to wedge it somehow so it doesn't jostle as you're moving. I think you also need to have your animal's vet records with you if you're traveling out of state. It's probably a good idea to have anyways, just in case something happens.

If you have two cats, like my friend, you can make the decision about whether to keep the cats in the cage together, or get two separate cages. Some cats might do better having their own space, and some cats might do better drawing comfort from their brother/sister.

Now of course this is what you *should* do. I have to admit I've never done this. I don't own a hard-sided cat crate; I have this soft-sided cat carrier. (I WILL endorse that link! I love my Sherpa bag. :-)) Also, I only have one. My cats don't get along well enough to spend 8 hours together. And, it's not very aerated - I feel bad leaving them inside the whole time. So, I let my cats run loose around the car. I personally prefer them to be on my lap rather than crying from their carrier. But, I am taking safety risks when I do that so I couldn't actually tell other people to do the same. :-)

Regardless of whether your pet is caged or not, you need to make sure the animal is comfortable when you travel. Because it's usually hot when I am diving to Florida, I make sure that the air conditioner is at an appropriate temperature. You can also buy sunshades for the windows (often found in the baby section of stores) to help keep the sun off the animal - especially good if the animal is confined to a certain space! Being calm yourself in the car can help calm them as well - play piano music on your CD/tape player, or talk softly to them. When you stop, try to find a parking space in the shade and crack the windows a little bit. Be conscious of your animal and don't leave them in a hot car too long. I always keep a water dish pour some cool water for my cats when I am stopped. They are only sometimes interested in that. I always bring the litter box (with clean litter!) with me (for use at my destination), and keep it on the floor in the backseat. The cats usually like to sleep inside it - I guess it's cool and familiar. :-) In all the times I've traveled with them, they have only used the box once.

If your cats don't do well in the car, or you're uncomfortable with the thought of driving with them, then you can talk to your vet about sedatives. The first trip my cats made, my parents drove them up without me. They got some pills from the vet, and kept the cats (then about 7 or 8 months old) in a laundry basket. The cats just kinda stayed put and were calm the whole time. It might be a good option, especially if it's just a one-time move and not something you're planning to do a lot. I have no knowledge of the risks of sedating your cat, so that's definitely something you should look up on your own and talk to your vet about.

One word: if you DO let your cats loose in the car, be very VERY careful when you get in and out of the car. The last thing you want is for the cat to escape while you're along a highway! You could keep your cat in a carrier for the times that the door will be open, if that's comfortable for you. For me, I have found my cats don't try to jump out. However, I do locate both cats before I open the door, and am very conscious of where they are while the door is open. My husband also helps with this - when we're together, we'll get out of the car one at a time, so the other can help watch for the cats. We've never had trouble, but if your cat is likely to bolt it's something you should take into consideration.

Okay that's all I have to say on the topic. :-)

Roombas

2009-04-27T15:39:00.001-04:00

see more Funny Graphs

And here's a funny recent video of kitty vs. roomba

Sea lions

2009-04-24T18:47:00.005-04:00

My parents are currently touring the Northwest U.S. as my dad is out there on sales jobs business, and they are celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary. My mom has been sending us pictures of the sights and scenes they've been enjoying, and I thought I'd share this picture. It makes me smile. :-)

She wrote:

"The day after I got here we walked out behind the hotel and saw some lazy sea lions lolling in the sun. Every once in awhile one of them would roll over and bark, but mostly they just laid there and slept. This picture shows only a fraction of the sea lions that were in this harbor."

She told me on the phone this morning that they would roll over, make their sea-liony noises ("ark, ark, ark") and then roll back to their lazy position. Hehe

Morning wake-up calls: 3:30am

2009-04-16T10:07:00.003-04:00

Yep they're at it again!

Lewis has gone back to his habit of waking us up starting at 3:30am for his breakfast. He gets fed at 5am, so his internal clock is quite off. It's getting really frustrating, especially when sleep is so precious to me these days!

I am considering doing something that would really make me sad, but it might be our only option: closing our bedroom door and not letting the kitties sleep with us. I actually love it when they sleep with us. I love their cute sleeping bodies curled up at my feet. I do NOT love being woken up every 5-10 minutes from 3:30am until 5:00am.

Currently the bedroom door is broken and does not close, so we'd have to get that fixed first. But, it might be something we have to do.

I have been wrestling with the feeding thing for quite a while. I switched their food when we moved to this current location, because I found a local pet food store. They seemed to like it at first, but then they started leaving about half in their bowls. Meanwhile, they seem starving between mealtimes. Their bodies feel solid, so I'm not worried about them starving to death; I just don't want to be bugged if they're not going to eat the food I give them! (How cat-like!)

So I switched to a different "flavor", same brand. They don't seem to like it any better and I personally dislike the smell of the new flavor, so I'm going back.

After talking to the guy at the pet food store, I decided to start supplementing wet food in the evenings. We decided to give them 1/4 can of wet food and about half the dry food that we've been feeding them. They say that picky cats usually love wet food, and it's a great way to make sure they are getting the moisture they need. Apparently, cats aren't as apt to drink water as dogs, so often cats who are on all-kibble diets have trouble with dehydration. So we'll see if this mixture of wet and dry does the trick. So far, they seem to be eating everything so that's good!

We also got some samples of another brand of dry food, in case that's the problem. I gave them both one evening to see which they ate, but they ate both types the same amount. :-) So I don't know if I'll switch or not. I hate switching their food all the time, but I'd really love to have them stop bugging me! And of course I get tired of picking up leftover kibble from the ground because when they're done they like to play with it. :-) We still have several more samples, so I think I'll try my half/half experiment again and see what they do.

My husband wonders if the cats like variety. They say that cats don't like variety and prefer that their owners NOT change the brand of cat food, but who knows. Maybe my cats are secretly taking Nuphedra without me knowing it. ;-)

Cat goes on a crime spree

2009-04-11T13:31:00.001-04:00

Here's an entertaining video of Jack, the clothes-stealing cat, from Idaho:

The Enemy Within - Hedgehogs

2009-04-10T16:01:00.000-04:00

A little video for your enjoyment!

The Colbert Report

Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

The Enemy Within - Hedgehogs

colbertnation.com

Colbert Report Full Episodes

Political Humor

NASA Name Contest

Spot the differences

2009-03-22T23:59:00.003-04:00

Were you getting tired of me talking about fish? :-)

I can't believe I've never written about bettas before! Well there you have it, most of my knowledge... I'm sure there's more but my brain is tired and the weekend is almost over which means my free time to write paragraphs and paragraphs on betta fish will be more limited. :-)

On to other favorite topics... kitties! I am still in the process of getting 3 months worth of pictures off my camera and uploading them. (Why does it always seem to take so long to get around to transferring pictures from the camera to computer??) I uploaded two tonight that I thought you'd enjoy. They are of Ebony, surprisingly, who hates to me photographed.

Now, at first glance, you might think this is the same picture. However, if you look very closely you'll see the main difference between the two: (click on the pictures for bigger versions)

Do you see it?

Ebony was sitting on my dresser staring at me, which I thought was really cute. (I also thought it particularly cute because I didn't have my glasses on at the time and so all I could see was her silhouette. Thank goodness my camera has an automatic focus; it's very weird to take pictures without being able to see clearly yourself! I recommend always having your corrective eyewear on hand, especially if you are partaking in European or Argentina travel. Yeah, it would be bad if you couldn't see on those instances.)

I took several pictures, as I always do. After snapping the first one, Ebony turned her head, so I lowered the camera to see if she would resume her position of staring right at me. She then, with her paw, knocked down the deodorant bottle that was right in front of her, and then returned to the alert stare-her-down pose that she had been doing before. Thank you, Ebony - I do like it better with the deodorant on its side, a little more inconspicuous. She's such a lady.

Ah, cats. You gotta love them. :-)

Getting a fish, part 2

2009-03-22T23:01:00.003-04:00

So, congratulations! You've bought all your supplies and you're ready to set up your tank. Here is what you need to do next.

Rinse everything
It's a good idea to rinse everything, especially if it's been sitting for a while or was just bought from a store. This includes the rocks, the plants, the tank itself, and the pump (you only need to rinse the part that goes in the water). Do not use bleach, as it is bad for fish. If you need to sterilize it, put it in the hot sun for a natural bleach.

Be careful of the water
You don't need special water, but you do need to make sure the water you're using is clean. Sometimes, I trusted the tap water, but other places I didn't. Sometimes I found it easier just to buy the gallon containers of "spring water" from the store - especially if the sink I was using was too short to stick my tank under. It's okay to use tap water but you have to treat it before you put the fish in (the same goes for spring water). I used a brand called AquaSafe, which is in a bright yellow bottle. You can find it and other comparable products at a pet store. You don't need a lot - follow the directions on the bottle, and fishy should be happy.

Preventing ich
Ich (also spelled ick) is a parasite that is common in aquarium fish. It looks like white, cloudy splotches on your fish, and will kill your betta if not treated. (microdermabrasion won't help this fishy!) The best way to prevent it is to put non-iodized salt (found at grocery stores) in your aquarium whenever you do a water change. I haven't been able to find a specific amount, but I think about a teaspoon for a two gallon tank is good. The salt will kill the ich without hurting the betta. If your fish does get ich, you can buy medicine at pet stores. I know Zeke (the first one) got tail rot one time and I bought these drops at Petsmart that made him all better and he lived for 2 more years. (I had him for a really long time!) The drops weren't too expensive either.

Put it all together
Once you've set up your aquarium, added your rocks, plants, water, water conditioner, and salt, you're almost done! Turn on the filter (or air stone, which is what I had) and let it run for a bit - particularly if it's the first time you've used it. It might be helpful to buy an aquarium thermometer to help you monitor the temperature - you'll want to make sure it stays between 75F to 82F (bettas are tropical fish). Don't put a heater in a tank less than 5 gallons, so be sure to keep your tank in a place that is warm enough for the water to maintain that temperature. (I never had any problems with this).

I let my aquarium run for about 24 hours when I first got Zeke. I wanted to make sure the salt and water conditioner got a chance to filter all through the water, and that the water was properly aerated and at the right temperature. The first time I added Zeke to my tank, I did it cautiously as the internet sites told me - adding a little bit of the water from the tank to his temporary bowl, a bit at a time, until all the old water was gone. Every time after that I just plopped him in. :-)

For subsequent water changes, I always let the aquarium run for a few hours before putting Zeke back in.

This is all I'm going to write for now on the subject, but I'm sure I'll revisit betta fish in the future. :-) Enjoy your new fishy!

Solitary bettas

2009-03-22T22:40:00.004-04:00

I got this comment from Jes, in response to my post, Getting a fish, part 1:

Actually, male betas are fine in a tank with other fish that don't have big flowing fins like they do. I had friends that had a male beta in their 10 gallon with all their other fish. Until then I had no clue you could put them with other fish. I have seen a few in big social tanks at pet stores. Of course, I'd still be very careful putting the male beta in the tank if it didn't come from a tank with other fish.

I looked into this, and she's right. But, you have to be careful with which fish you pair a male betta with, and to be on the safe side I'd run it by a fish expert at a pet store before doing so. Also, it will depend on how aggressive your particular betta is. For a beginner fish-owner, I'd probably just avoid the situation altogether. :-)

Here are the kinds of fish you'll want to avoid:

Fish smaller than one inch (may be eaten)
Fish with long, flowing fins (fancy guppies, white cloud mountain minnows, and some long-finned tetra species)
Slow-swimming fish (unable to escape bullying)
Fish belonging to the same biological family, such as Paradise Fish and gouramis (may attack or be attacked due to their relatively similar appearance and cross species aggression)
Mollies (tend to bite the fin or eat bettas)
Goldfish (great appetites, preference for cold water, and high excretion-rate)
Barbs (nip at slower-moving fish such as bettas)
Aggressive cichlids (exception: peaceful cichlids like German rams)

Of course, you should never keep two male bettas together. They are fighters in their natural habitat, and in an enclosed tank there is nowhere for the "loser" to retreat. Some people like to put two males together in a tank with a divider separating the two, so they can't actually hurt each other. I remember doing some research on this when I got Zeke initially, and I'd caution against it. It's stressful for both bettas to see their "opponent" and not be able to defend their territory. A better solution is to hold a mirror up to the tank for a short period of time. That will have the same affect - the betta will puff out his fins and try to look ferocious, but when you take the mirror down the threat goes away and your betta will be able to relax again. Just like Cyber Monday. :-)

Getting a fish, part 1

2009-03-21T16:02:00.004-04:00

I got my first fish about 5 or 6 years ago. I chose a Betta fish because they seemed less complicated and they were very beautiful.

I bought a fish because at the time I was living in the dorm in college, and they were the only pets allowed. After the long winter, I was struggling with a bit of depression, and I really, really missed having an animal around to care for. Getting a fish was the best thing for me - having the life, beautifully colored, really raised my spirits.

Betta fish are really easy fish for the beginner, I thought. They are also known as Siamese Fighting Fish. Most of the ones you can buy in a store are males, because they are the pretty ones with beautiful, flowing fins. Females have short fins and aren't usually as vividly colored. They have to be kept by themselves, as they will attack and eat other fish. (Even breeders, I read, only put the two fish together long enough for breeding and egg-laying, before separating them again!) They do fine by themselves, and you can entertain them by holding up a mirror and watching them puff out their gills and fins ferociously because they think they see another fish. :-)

The tank
When you're getting a fish for the first time, you'll need to first consider how you're going to house them. Generally, the rule of thumb is a gallon for each inch long the fish is. (It really depends on the fish, though - some fish require more space than others.) Bettas are nice because they can survive in a smaller space than most fish. A lot of people just put their betta in a bowl or vase.

It's been a while since I researched this so I'm going from memory here, but I would actually caution against just using a bowl for your betta (surprised?). Getting a tank with a filter will keep the water fresher/cleaner, and increase the time between water changes, which reduces the stress on the fish. Also, I found that Zeke was very active and responded to me, compared to other fish kept in a bowl who just sat there unmoving.

I bought an aquarium kit, like the one here. I really liked this particular kit. I had the two-gallon one, but I think a one-gallon tank would do just fine as well. It comes with an air stone filter, which just keeps air bubbles circulating through the tank (rather than collecting and cleaning the water). It also has a hood with a light, and the best part - it is completely cat-proof (unless your cat is particularly adept). Bettas also jump, so some sort of lid is essential - I used to put Zeke in a bowl when I was changing his water, and occasionally he would jump out of it.

The accessories
You'll need aquarium stones for the bottom of your tank - they're easy to find in pet stores, or in the pet section of stores like Walmart. You'll want enough stones to fill a few inches on the bottom of your tank. You will also need plants (as many as you have room for). Bettas' natural habitat are the rice patties of Thailand, and so they are used to having a lot of places to hide. Therefore, you'll want to make sure their tank has plenty of plants, without being two crowded (of course). I had three plastic plants that seemed to serve my Zekes very well. Other than that, you should be set - bettas don't need much in the way of toys. :-)

The food
The food is pretty simple - you can buy Betta Bits from the store. You can also get treats for your betta, which they love - freeze-dried bloodworms. Zeke used to get so excited when I gave him some bloodworms! There are probably other variations of the food, but to be honest I never researched it. :-)

Next I'll talk about setting up the tank for your new betta.

Freekibblekat

2009-03-21T15:51:00.003-04:00

Joanna sent me a link to this awesome site, and I'm excited she did!

It's called Freekibblekat.com, and the premise is simple. Every day, you go to the site and answer a trivia question about cats. When you do, 10 pieces of kibble are donated to needy cats in shelters.

There is also a site for dogs, called Freekibble.com. It operates under the same premise.

From the FAQ's:

Mimi Launched freekibble on April 01, 2008. On May 14, she delivered her first round... of kibble to the Humane Society of Central Oregon: 240 lbs. and enough to feed 456 dogs for one day! Since then and as of March 13, 2009, freekibble and freekibblekat, have raised over 120,000 lbs. (60 tons!!!) of kibble.

Freekibble now has 12 shelters across the country on a monthly program.

I like this idea of helping shelters, and also of learning a little bit of trivia in the meantime! Be sure to spread the word, and go every day to donate kibble! I put a button in my sidebar to help direct traffic to Freekibblekat.com, so you have no excuses. :-)

Brought to you by motorcycle accident attorneys

My firefox kitties

2009-03-09T20:15:00.003-04:00

I recently came across some adorable pictures of red pandas. I really like red pandas. :-) They're so cute! Watching the one at the zoo reminds me so much of my kitties. I even have pictorial proof of the similarities:

And pictures of Lewis and Ebony:

Speaking of Firefox kitties...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Rest in peace, Zeke

2009-03-09T13:17:00.003-04:00

Well, as I suspected, Zeke didn't make it through the night.

I was keeping a half eye on him, though I don't know why because every time I saw him it made my heart break. But, one time I checked on him last night, there was no doubt - he was upside down in one of his plants, and his color was almost completely gone.

Rest in peace, Zeke. You had a good long life and I hope that it was a happy one for you. I sincerely hope you weren't in any pain, and that the end came quickly for you.

I'm going to miss Zeke, and having a beautiful fish, and the tank in our apartment. It provided emergency lights sometimes!

Zeke

2009-03-08T20:16:00.003-04:00

I haven't talked much about Zeke, my betta fish, on this blog. I really should talk about him more. :-) Perhaps some posts for the future.

I got Zeke a few years ago, and kept him at work for a long time, until I changed jobs to where I'm working now. (I could bring him in, but I find changing fish tank water at work to be a really annoying task!)

Zeke, however, isn't doing very well. :-( He has been moving a lot slower the past few days. I went out of town this weekend, and when I came back I noticed he'd lost a lot of his color. I was hoping he'd pass while I was gone because my husband offered to take care of it happened while I was gone. I'm afraid it will probably be tonight or tomorrow. He's mostly white now, and moving very slowly, not eating. I know he's an old fish, so there isn't anything I can do now.

My heart is sad mostly to watch this process, and to lose him. I wasn't as attached to this Zeke as I was to my last fish, also named Zeke. But, I still love animals and it makes me sad when their membership card on this earth runs out and they leave us. :-(

Here, Kitty Kitty!

2009-02-26T13:15:00.006-05:00

One thing I like to do with my free time is to make cards. I see it as designing with my hands. I've always loved putting elements (colors, shapes, patterns) together to create something fun, creative, beautiful. I also love sending out cards, so it's a way to combine the two! I don't get to do it nearly enough - mostly out of laziness, not wanting to pull out all the supplies and put them all back again so we can eat dinner. :-)

I am slowly building up my stamp collection, scouting stores for sets and custom rubber stamps.
I was really excited to get a set called "Here, Kitty Kitty!" I love it! It has two kitties (one jumping), a ball of yarn, a wind-up mouse, a birthday hat, and the words "Happy birthday from the cat". How perfect is that?? Of course, I don't have very many friends who would appreciate birthday cards from the cat. :-) But I was able to make a card for my mom for her birthday last November:

I was excited with how it turned out, though I thought it might have looked better without the wind-up mousies in the background. I'm looking forward to all the creative ways to use the stamps! And perhaps I'll add some other cat stamps to my collection, and some Beagle stamps if I'm able to find them! ;-)

The German Shepherd

2009-02-20T18:14:00.003-05:00

I got this funny as an email forward. Enjoy!

-------------------

One day the German Shepherd starts chasing rabbits and before long, discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.

The German Shepherd thinks, "Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!" Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap, the German Shepherd exclaims loudly, "Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder, if there are any more around here?"

Hearing this, the leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. "Whew!" says the leopard, "That was close! That German Shepherd nearly had me!"

Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So, off he goes, but the German Shepherd sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up.

The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.

The leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, "Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!"

Now, the German Shepherd sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, "What am I going to do now?", but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the German Shepherd says...

"Where's that monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!"

25 things - pet edition

2009-02-17T21:03:00.003-05:00

I'm sure everyone's seen the 25 Things that is going around Facebook right now. I decided to do one for this blog, just on the subject of pets/animals! :-) Some of these probably won't be a surprise for those long-time readers of my blog, but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!

1. I have had 6 cats in my lifetime, and one of those cats had 4 kittens that we kept for 6-9 weeks.

2. My parents let me get my first kitten when I was 10, to teach me responsibility. I know that isn't always a good idea to do that with children, but I was a pretty responsible kid and took good care of my cats. (My parents also closely supervised me.)

3. I used to love turtles a lot.

4. I had three pet turtles when we lived in Costa Rica. I started out with one, and he stopped eating so we got a second one. It did the trick, and both ate healthily. We were given the third turtle by a friend who was moving.

5. I also was obsessed with horses for a while, but only because most young girls love horses and I felt that I ought to like them, too.

6. I wanted a cat from the time I was really little. For some reason, whenever I imagined my cat, I always pictured a black and white cat.

7. I actually wasn't obsessed with cats until about 7th grade. We had just moved to a new town, and my parents bought me a Trapper Keeper to take to my new school. I picked out one with a cat on the front, and kitten folders for inside. I got the reputation of being a cat lover at my new school, and it went downhill from there. :-)

8. My parents had an Old English Sheepdog named Sassy when I was born. She apparently reverted back to puppyhood when the new baby (me) was brought home and forgot all her potty training.

9. My first two cats were tabbies, and were also indoor/outdoor kitties. I got both when they were 6 weeks old.

10. My second cat got pregnant because my parents kept procrastinating about getting her spayed.

11. I got to watch the kittens be born and it was one of the most awesome things ever. I'm glad I got to witness that.

12. In Peru, dry cat food was very expensive so we made the food for the cats. I made rice and mixed in a can of tuna (later, we used liver). It was the first thing I ever learned to cook. I always made the food, even when I was 10 years old.

13. I didn't want Siamese cats, but at the time it was all I could find. I paid $30 for them. I'm not sure why I paid for them - they didn't have papers or anything.

14. My Siamese cats (Koko and Yum Yum) looked full bred but had very faint tabby stripes on their legs, so I suspect they were not completely Siamese.

15. I named my first cat, Misty, after the book Misty of Chincoteague, which was one of my favorites growing up.

16. Our family got a dog when I was 14 and that was a new experience for me.

17. We had picked out the puppy and were going to take her home when she was 7 weeks old, but the owners called us at 5 weeks and said to take her now or they'd give her away to someone else. We had to take her - and I would *NOT* recommend getting a 5 week old puppy. She suffered separation anxiety really bad, and cried so much our neighbors complained.

18. It is very hard to find free pets in Peru. You don't have animal shelters, or the idea of "house pets" in general. There were no stores like Petsmart.

19. My brother won a goldfish at a fair in Costa Rica, which led to my parents getting a big fishtank and a lot of other fish. However, all the fish but my brother's goldfish died soon after.

20. I got a betta fish for the first time in college. I have had many bettas, all named Zeke. At one point I got a new tank and had 3 betta fish die pretty fast, so I got rid of the tank. I have no idea why they kept dying, but they lived fine in the old tank. I think it was the filter.

21. When I was 6, my next door neighbor had a frog lay eggs in their outdoor kiddie pool. The eggs hatched into tadpoles and I thought it was the coolest thing ever. I really wanted a pet frog (my parents were so mean not to let me keep some). I used to lay awake and imagine how I would have constructed a flycatcher so I could feed my pet frogs.

22. My first cat, Misty, died of feline leukemia. They don't have any record of the disease in Peru, so she was never vaccinated for it. She got it after we brought her to the States.

23. When I had Koko and Yum Yum, our vet was within walking distance from my house. I used to put them in a cloth shoulder bag and walk them to the vet. They'd poke their heads out and watch where we were going, but never tried to jump out.

24. Koko and Yum Yum looked a lot alike. I was one of the few who could tell them apart without looking at the collar color. My dad always called them "Cat". I'm not sure he ever knew their names.

25. When Autumn had her four kittens, we had a friend who knew how to tell the gender. She told us we had 3 girls and one boy. We found out later that it was actually opposite, and so we gave away the three boys to people who all wanted female cats. Oops! :-) corsets

On vacation

2009-02-15T16:51:00.002-05:00

My husband and I recently took a 10 day vacation out to California. Before we left, I needed to figure out what to do with the cats. I figured I had three options:

1) Leave the cats at home and have someone come once a day (or every other day) to replenish food and water.

2) Find someone willing to stay in our apartment and feed the cats.

3) Find someone willing to let the cats stay with them for the duration of our time away.

I got a lot of criticism for not wanting to do the first option. Everyone insisted that cats do just fine by themselves for 10 days. However, I was not so sure *MY* cats would do fine by themselves. We tend to be homebodies, and we are home most evenings. When we're here, we pay a lot of attention to them - we pet them, play with them, talk to them. They love to spend the evenings on our laps. They sleep with us at night and are always near at hand. They aren't the type to disappear into an unused room - they like being near us and around us.

Last summer, we did a lot of weekend trips. We always had a neighbor come by at least once just to check on them and pet them. However, we found that the kitties would often leave "presents" for us to find when we got back. They would only do it while we were gone for a weekend, and they stopped when we started staying home more. So, you can see why I was so hesitant to leave the cats by themselves for 10 days. I wasn't sure what kind of damage they would do being left alone that long - a weekend is one thing, but 10 days is a long time. I didn't really want to risk it because I have a suspicion that the smell of cat urine on carpet never really goes away, since we can't get under it to treat the mat. I like our apartment the way it is - I don't want to deal with the smell or wall fountains or anything. :-)

We tried to think of someone for #2 or #3, and I put the request out to Facebook. I ended up finding an old friend from high school who is in Atlanta going to school right now. She's not in a position to have a cat, but she loves them and she offered to take the kitties for the time! I was so excited. It worked out really well - she said they settled in quite well, and seemed to enjoy their visit, as did she.

Knowing they were being taken care of took a load off my mind while we were gone. I missed them terribly though! I hadn't deleted the pictures from Christmas from my camera, so I would scroll through and look at all the pictures of Lewis and Ebony when I started missing them too much. Glad to be home and be back with them! :-)

Cat's Meow Marketplace

2009-01-31T22:51:00.002-05:00

The other day, I was killing time waiting for my car to get new tires when I noticed a cool new store in the strip mall next to the mechanic. It's called the Cat's Meow Marketplace, and is sponsored by an animal rescue organization called FurKids. They call it a yard sale, but it's basically a thrift store. It's pretty big, and they have everything! I saw couches, kitchen appliances, clothes, pictures, books, cat stuff, and yes - they even had a kitchen sink! They had a good selection of used books - from health (like the best diet pills) to popular fiction (I saw some Tom Clancys) to finances (Dave Ramsey anyone?). And next to it was a section for pet supplies! (Don't usually see that in thrift stores! :-)) Their prices seemed reasonable, too. Unfortunately, I didn't need anything at the time, but if I am on the lookout for something I'll definitely check it out. They are open Saturdays from 9-4pm, and they accept cash only. They're located at 4015 Holcomb Bridge Road in Norcross, GA. The proceeds go to benefit the organization, about which I've heard great things. I'm all about helping animals! I also like that I can donate stuff there if I want - and it's tax deductible. I have a box in my apartment that is quickly filling with things to donate, so when it's full I'll be sure to drop it off. I'd encourage you to check it out if you're in the need of some second-hand items! Support the animals and get great deals!

Cat's Meow Marketplace
4015 Holcomb Bridge Road
Norcross, GA

Headbanging kitties

2009-01-29T14:07:00.001-05:00

This video absolutely cracked me up.

New license plate

2009-01-26T18:39:00.003-05:00

For all you cat-loving Georgia residents!

A new license plate has just been unveiled for Georgia drivers! It's a cat-theme, with a picture of Hope, a former Suwanee shelter resident. She's a tuxedo cat, just like Lewis. :-) Too bad I just renewed my tags! I'll have to wait another year before I can get this license plate.

As with the other animal plates (a dog-themed one with a Golden Retriever, and an animal-themed one with a dog and cat), a portion of the tag fee goes to the Dog and Cat Sterilization Program, which subsidizes spay/neuter procedures by Georgia vets.

You can read more about Hope the cat here. fat burner

Ziggy the Bandito

2009-01-22T15:45:00.002-05:00

Check out this video, it makes me laugh! (It's more than a cat-chasing-paper-in-printer video.)

The cat in the video - Ziggy Bandito - was at Good Mews when I started volunteering. He captured our hearts with all his crazy fun antics around the shelter. We were excited that someone adopted him, but a little sad to see him go! He was a kitten - 7 months old when I knew him (he's 10 months now) - but he did much better in the main shelter with the adult cats than in the kitten room. I guess he was just a younger brother!

Anyways, I'm excited to see him doing so well in his home now!

Flowering Cherry Trees

Why everyone should own a dog

2009-01-18T21:19:00.001-05:00

null - Watch more free videos

In style pets

2009-01-11T23:36:00.002-05:00

Joanna sent me an article that I thought was really good. It's entitled "Leave Marley in the Movies: Why Buying a Trendy Pet Makes No Sense", written by Tisha Tolar over at Wisebread. An excerpt:

Who doesn’t fall in love with the many animals featured in hit movies of today and years past? You may be hard-pressed to find someone who didn’t want to adopt 101 cute spotted dogs or wish to cuddle with a little, talking Chihuahua but the reality is the animals we see in the movies or on television are simply not reality. As the movies continue to bring us “insight” into different types of lovable pets, parents are more inclined to run out and buy the same kind of animal to appease the kids without much thought into the expense, care, and time needed to truly love and nurture the real deal.

Every time a lovable critter makes it big in Hollywood, impulsive consumer demand causes a frenzy that often turns out bad for the real life "stars". As quickly as they're scooped up from stores, they're abandoned at shelters. These fads aren't just made up of four-legged Hollywood stars.

I thought she made a really great point. Movies do affect people's sentiments about certain animals, and too many people buy their animals impulsively. I fear the consequences of Marley & Me in particular: lab puppies are cute, but notoriously wild, energetic, and hard-to-control dogs! Not saying that they're bad pets, but it takes a responsible owner willing to put in the time to train them to make for a well-behaved dog.

If a movie has inspired you to get a pet, I'd recommend you first analyze your reasons for doing so. It's not bad to have a pet, but it's best to do it for the right reasons. Do your research. Find the breed that fits your needs/lifestyle the best. There are lots of options and decisions to make, and it's better for everyone involved if you make them with a clear head and not emotions. And if/when you do go to adopt an animal, make sure you're not supporting puppy mills! Rather, choose a rescue or a shelter... and if you must have the purebred for whatever reason, then make sure it's a reputable breeder.

So next time your dog gets into your Blackberry plants, it will help knowing that you made the decision to get him out of wisdom and not impulsively... :-)

Ah, kitties

2009-01-11T17:46:00.001-05:00

more animals

Opening Bell

2009-01-08T11:29:00.003-05:00

If you watched the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday then you would have seen something special. In celebration of the 80th anniversary of The Seeing Eye school, the president and his puppy rang the opening bell! The Seeing Eye is a school in New Jersey that trains visually impaired people to work with guide dogs.

When I was growing up, there was a couple behind us who had a guide dog for the husband, who was blind. I once interviewed him for our school newspaper about his life and his dogs. He had two different dogs while I knew him; both were black labs, one named Brooke and the other Casey. They were so obedient, and it allowed their owner to have a lot of freedom he wouldn't have been able to have on his own. I love this example of animals helping humans.

You can see the video of the NYSE Opening Bell here. Poor puppy gets a little frightened of the bell!

Luminox watches

Visit to the vet

2009-01-03T13:53:00.005-05:00

A few months ago, I had to take the cats to the vet. They were due for their annual shots, and the apartment complex we were moving into required proof of vaccinations. Also, for the weekend that we moved, we boarded the cats at Petsmart's PetHotel and they also require vaccinations.

I snapped a couple of pictures with my cell phone:

Lewis was hilarious. There are two doors in the little exam room: one for the pets and their owners (that led to the main lobby), and one for the vets and vet techs, that led to the back where all the meds, equipment, etc. were. We came in the one door, and then the vet came in. She left for a few minutes, and the whole time she was gone Lewis sprawled in front of the door pawing at the bottom. As if he wanted to follow her! I guess he's more interested in her than staying with me. :-)

Ebony preferred the hiding approach when the vet was gone. She thought that perhaps if she hid behind the computer, the vet wouldn't see her and she wouldn't have to get any shots. Smart, Ebony! Too bad it didn't work. I think your eyes gave you away. :-)

I really love my vet. I've used them for years, even though they're a bit of a drive. If you're in the north Atlanta area, I highly recommend them. They're named Animal Hospital of Sandy Springs and are located off Roswell Road near I-285. I've met with each of the vets there, and I've liked them all!

One thing I like about them was how they take the time to explain things and show you things. Back when I had Zoey, I had the vet implant her with a microchip. It was really cool: they showed me how you read the microchips... they have something like barcode scanners that reads the chip and displays a number. Then you can match the unique number to the animal. The vet definitely didn't need to take the time to show me that, but I was really grateful!

Hello from Orlando

2008-12-28T20:13:00.002-05:00

We've been here in Orlando this past week, enjoying some nice time off for Christmas. We brought Lewis and Ebony with us as we always do. My family loves having cats around again, and the kitties certainly love all the extra attention!

The best part about Orlando for the kitties is the huge porch off the back of my parents' house. It's nice and big, completely screened in. It overlooks the backyard which ends at a peaceful lake. There are birdfeeders and a birdbath in the backyard, which bring the birds, and lots of squirrels running around. The screens are usually crawling with geckos (though not as much in December) which is great fun. And of course there are bugs and ducks and cranes and all sorts of other wildlife. It's truly kitty heaven.

Lewis loves the porch. He sits by the sliding glass door when it's closed, and runs out as fast as he can when we open it. He stalks the critters (he can't get to most of them, due to the screens). He lounges on the cushioned lounge chairs and watches everything with a careful eye.

Ebony takes a bit longer to come out. She's quite a fearful cat so loud noises and commotion scare her. However, as the week has worn on, she has allowed herself to be more and more comfortable on the porch and has spent her fair share of time there as well.

As I've been watching Lewis walk around, I've realized that he's lost a lot of weight. We didn't even need to try weight loss pills! I guess reducing his portion sizes and separating his food bowl from Ebony's has done the trick. He will always have that flabby skin, but it's a good thing when he's not filling it out. I'm proud of him!

It's too bad we're leaving tomorrow. The kitties will not look forward to leaving the porch behind, nor will they enjoy the 8-hr-ish car ride back to Atlanta. Poor kitties!

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T06:33:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas from icanhascheezburger.com!

The best exercise

2008-12-14T22:11:00.001-05:00

They say the best exercise for a cat is another cat. I would argue that this option comes in a very close second...

Someone stole my cat

2008-12-10T17:56:00.001-05:00

My husband and I can't get over how much this cat looks like Lewis! And the picture cracks us up too.

more animals

My sister and Lewis

2008-12-07T00:18:00.001-05:00

Christmas gifts

2008-12-05T23:15:00.003-05:00

My husband and I recently moved to a new apartment almost half the size of our old one. We went from 2 bedrooms to 1, and have been trying to purge our stuff. It doesn't all fit in our new apartment! While our space is definitely workable, we don't really have any extra room. We were asked by our families this week to provide Christmas wish lists. We had a really hard time coming up with something! Our families, like so many others in this country and in the world, are struggling financially. So, asking for big electronics or Outer Banks rentals vacations were really not going to happen. We needed to find things that would be inexpensive yet were legitimate needs that wouldn't clutter the already full apartment.

After jotting down a few things on the list, I had a moment of inspiration. I wrote, "Things that we can donate to Good Mews."

That might sound like a weird request, but the more I think of it, the more I like it. Good Mews, as well as kitties in general, are near and dear to my heart. I invest a lot of time in the place and I really want to see the needs of the shelter be met. Also, a lot of the stuff is small and fairly inexpensive. For example, they are hosting a can drive where you bring in cans of Science Diet and Fancy Feast cat food. If you just buy a few cans, it's not very expensive and each can is appreciated by the shelter. It would bring me a lot of joy to bring a big box of donations to them one day after Christmas!

I sent my family Good Mews' wish list. I don't know if they'll be as excited about this type of present as I am, but we'll see.

If you're looking for some inexpensive gifts ideas for this Christmas, perhaps you can check with a local shelter to see what their needs might be and ask for that. After all, isn't Christmas about the spirit of giving?

Dog food scores

2008-12-05T07:45:00.001-05:00

I've been talking a lot about cat food recently, mostly because that's what's currently on my mind. A lot of the ideas behind good quality cat food also translate directly to dog food (avoiding the corn and by-products). Joanna sent me this scoring chart for dog food which I really appreciated. Take the test and see how well your food scores! The scores for popular dog food brands are at the end.

How to grade your dog's food:

Start with a grade of 100

For every listing of "by-product", subtract 10 points
For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points
If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 10 points
For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, subtract 5 points
If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (I.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points
If the protein sources are not meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points
If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 3 points
If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points
If corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients, subtract 2 more points
If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 2 points
If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points
If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 2 points
If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points
If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog is not allergic to beef), subtract 1 point
If it contains salt, subtract 1 point

Extra Credit:

If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points
If the food is endorsed by any major breed group or nutritionist, add 5 points
If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points
If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points
If the food contains fruit, add 3 points
If the food contains vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points
If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 2 points
If the food contains barley, add 2 points
If the food contains flax seed oil (not just the seeds), add 2 points
If the food contains oats or oatmeal, add 1 point
If the food contains sunflower oil, add 1 point
For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "" as 2 different sources), add 1 point
If it contains glucosamine and chondroitin, add 1 point
If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point

Score:
94-100+ = A, 86-93 = B, 78-85 = C, 70-77 = D, 69 and below = F

Here are some foods that have already been scored.
Dog Food scores:
Authority Harvest Baked / Score 116 A+
Bil-Jac Select / Score 68 F
Canidae / Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Adult/ Score 112 A+
Chicken Soup Senior / Score 115 A+
Diamond Maintenance / Score 64 F
Diamond Premium Adult / Score 72 D
Diamond Lamb Meal & Rice / Score 92 B
Diamond Large Breed 60+ Formula / Score 99 A
Dick Van Patten's Natural Balance Ultra Premium / Score 122 A+
Dick Van Patten's Duck and Potato / Score 106 A+
Exceed Lamb & Rice with Natural Lamb/ Score 57 F
Eagle Pack Natural Formula /Score 93 B
Eagle Pack Large & Giant Breed Adult/ Score 85 C
Eagle Pack Large & Giant Breed Puppy/ Score 86 B
Foundations / Score 106 A+
Hund-n-Flocken Adult Dog (lamb) by Solid Gold / Score 93 B
Iams Lamb Meal & Rice Formula Premium / Score 73 D
Innova Dog / Score 114 A+
Innova Evo / Score 114 A+
Kibble N Bits / Score 43 F
Kirkland Signature Chicken, Rice, and Vegetables / Score 110 A+
Nutrisource Lamb and Rice / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Choice Large Breed Puppy / Score 87 B
Nutro Natural Balance Large Breed Adult/ Score 66 F
Pedigree Small Crunchy Bites/ Score 47 F
Pet Gold Adult with Lamb & Rice / Score 23 F
ProPlan Natural Turkey & Barley / Score 103 A+
Purina Beneful / Score 17 F
Purina Dog / Score 62 F
Purina Come-n-Get It / Score 16 F
Royal Canin Bulldog / Score 100 A+
Royal Canin Natural Blend Adult / Score 106 A+
Royal Canin Potato and Rice Vet. Diet/ Score 84 C
Sensible Choice Chicken and Rice / Score 97 A
Science Diet Advanced Protein Senior 7+ / Score 63 F
Science Diet for Large Breed Puppies / Score 69 F
Taste of the Wild / Score 110 A+
Wellness Super5 Mix Chicken / Score 110 A+
Wolfking Adult Dog (bison) by Solid Gold / Score 97 A
CLA

Guest posts wanted!

2008-12-04T14:34:00.002-05:00

I apologize for the deluge of posts today! I am going to be really busy from now until Christmas, so I am trying to finish my to-do list. :-)

I made some changes to the sidebar of this blog. I added a section called "Pet Food Brands", where I will keep a running list of brands that are recommended for a healthier, corn-free and by-product-free diet. If you have a brand that you want to add to the list, please let me know! Also, if you've tried a brand and you dislike it, please let me know that too. I also started a list of links to local pet food & supply stores. I'd like to promote local business, especially if the store is committed to selling high quality food. Right now I just have two that are here in Atlanta, but I'm definitely willing to include links from other towns and cities. If you have a local store that you'd recommend, let me know and I'll link to it!

This brings me to my next point. If any of my readers would like to write a guest post at some point, let me know! I'm always interested in hearing what other people have to say. If you feel passionate about an issue, or if you'd like to review a particular animal-related product or brand, then email me (ashley {at} twentysixcats {dot} com) or leave a comment here. I especially would love some non-cat posts, since that seems to be the majority of my focus. :-)

So, reader feedback wanted! Guest posts, product ideas, questions from cat behavior to home insurance with pets, or even just suggestions... all are welcome! You can leave a comment here or email ashley {at} twentysixcats {dot} com.

Pawsibilities

2008-12-04T12:50:00.004-05:00

Today on my way home from Good Mews, I passed a pet food shop and decided to stop in. It's called Pawsibilities Pet Food & Supply and I was immediately impressed. I've talked before about trying to find a local pet food store where I could buy natural pet food (i.e. food not made from corn and animal by-products). This one is a bit closer to me than the other one I found a few months ago. I spoke with the owner for a bit about food, and specifically raw food. I've done some research into raw food diets and have been interested in trying it. I got a small package called "kitten grind" (which is NOT made of kittens... I asked! they need a new name! :-)) and will give Lewis and Ebony 50% raw and 50% kibble. We'll see how they like it!

I really appreciated the time the owner took to help me, and the explanations about the different kinds of food. I also found the food priced fairly reasonable (as high-quality pet food can be quite pricey!). If you live near historic Roswell, GA, then I highly recommend stopping by. Actually, I recommend no matter where you live trying to find a local pet food store. I'm all about supporting local businesses, and I was surprised to find that I've lived so close to these stores for the past 3.5 years and never knew it. These stores often only sell high-quality food, instead of the corn-filled ones that you find at the grocery store. I've talked a lot about buying good quality pet food, or you might as well get some life insurance quotes for your pet!

Update on Erika

2008-12-04T12:42:00.004-05:00

A few days ago, I mentioned Erika, who was Eva's sister. We were told to give Erika a lot of loving due to the passing of her sister. Well today I went to Good Mews for my normal shift and found out that Erika got adopted!! :-) I was so excited to hear that. I'm glad she has a nice, loving home now. A few other kitties were adopted too. Actually a whole bunch were adopted on the 22nd but I didn't recognize their names which means they were probably kittens. (Can we say Christmas presents?? I can't say anything; my kitties were Christmas presents too. Some people get engagement rings, others get cats!) One of the cats that was adopted yesterday was a nice tom cat with part of his ear gone. We were talking about how toms with ear nicks are often the hardest (of healthy cats) to adopt out because they look mean. It's like the big black dog syndrome.

I'm happy that the kitties found new homes, but a little sad to see them go! Overall happy though. :-)

About Eva

2008-11-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

A few days ago, one of the shelter kitties named Eva was put down due to illness. There was kinda a sad twinge to the atmosphere when I worked at Good Mews the most recent time.

Eva was only at the shelter for a few months. She was abandoned with her sister, Erika, in September. She had diabetes and also a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), which is fatal if left untreated. She and Erika were placed in one of the Special Needs rooms, because of the dietary restrictions. (No Fentraphen for these guys!) I remember that we had to keep the water fountain in the room for Eva, because diabetic cats need a lot of water. When I was there last, I saw the fountain in the main shelter area. I'm glad other kitties are getting to enjoy it, but it did make me a little sad.

Erika I think will be moved to the main shelter, since she was in the Special Needs room to keep Eva company. We were instructed to give Erika lots of loving, as she is surely sad and lonely without her sister - and perhaps not really understanding where Eva went.

Good Mews is a no-kill shelter, but that doesn't mean they never put an animal down. They will never euthanize a healthy cat to make room for more cats. They will try to fight for the sick kitties, to get them better, even if it's a chronic condition (like Eva's). However, they also realize that sometimes the most humane thing is to put the kitty out of its pain and misery. It's sad, but sometimes it's better that way.

Rest in peace, Eva.

Jeepers Peepers!

2008-11-27T00:32:00.003-05:00

One of the cats in the shelter is named Tricky. A few years ago, poor Tricky got in the middle of a domestic dispute. Boyfriend was mad at Girlfriend, and shot Girlfriend's cats. Tricky was the only one who survived, but unfortunately did not escape unharmed. She got a bullet wedged in her body and is now her back two feet are paralyzed for the rest of her life. Don't feel bad for Tricky, though. She doesn't realize she's paralyzed. She has full use of her front two paws, and scoots herself all around the shelter.

You can immediately spot Tricky because she's wearing a diaper. She has no control of her excretory functions, so the diaper keeps her and the shelter clean and dry. I'd never seen a cat wearing a diaper before! At first I thought it was a baby diaper adapted for a cat, but then I discovered that they actually get them from a special website that sells diapers for animals. They are called Peepers. Here is a picture of a cat (not Tricky) wearing a diaper:

You can get the diapers at a site called HandicappedPets.com. (And, if you want to help out Tricky, just contact Good Mews for how to give them a donation of diapers for Tricky.)

I also read on the site that pet diapers can be used for housebreaking puppies. A-ha! I wish I'd known that. :-) Twould have been nice!!

Oh and something else Tricky likes - watching a DVD for cats on her pop up tv. It shows birds and squirrels, and for some reason she and the other cats just are mesmerized!

Slinky cat

2008-11-25T15:00:00.001-05:00

Courtesy of icanhascheezburger.com

Fun in the kitten room

2008-11-22T15:16:00.001-05:00

Ah, kittens! I haven't gotten the opportunity to be around kittens in a long time. They sure are cute!

Good Mews has a separate room for their kittens. This week for the first time I had the pleasure of doing what needed to be done in that room. The kittens, however, do not see me as the person who is changing out their food and water bowls, or vacuuming and mopping the floor. No, they think I'm there to play with them!

I did take some time to play. But, I couldn't dawdle all day! As I was mopping, one kitten was intent on chasing the mop all the way around the room. He followed me as I went, attacking the mop head. It became a sort of game between the two of us.

At one point I bent over to mop underneath a bench. Another kitten jumped from a nearby cat tree to my back! That really surprised me and made me laugh. I wasn't sure what to do! I finally convinced him to jump off again, but he stuck close - he wanted his head scratched!

The adult cats on the other side of the big windows were jealous of all the fun we were having. They sat looking in, and when I came by with the mop, they crouched down as if they were going to pounce too. Such cutie pies! I hope that these kittens aren't in the shelter long, and are able to find permanent homes soon. ("Forever homes" as they are called.)

order Phentermine

Someday, it could happen

2008-11-22T09:19:00.002-05:00

At Good Mews, they mark all the cats with microchips and use the scanners to verify that it's the correct cat before administering medication. I was watching the woman do this, and it reminded me of Jera and an article a friend sent me.

The article, from MSNBC, was about a cat coming back after being gone for 13 years. An excerpt:

A couple recently had an unexpected reunion with an old housemate: their pet cat who went missing more than 13 years ago. George, who was last seen by Melinda Merman and Frank Walburg in 1995, was turned into an animal hospital after the manager of a mobile home park trapped the sickly feline.

A microchip implanted in George allowed him to be traced back to his owners.

(The article also said that the cat weighed less than half of what it used to. Perhaps that's the best fat burner! Of course, I'll take putting Lewis on a diet over that method...)

My thoughts turned to Jera, wondering if that could happen to us. She does have a microchip implanted and even though I never expect to see her again, a tiny bit of me will always have that hope that she COULD come back. I'd love for her to come back. The more I ponder it, the more I realize that despite the frustrations that come with puppy ownership, Jera was really an amazing dog. And her disposition fit our family so well. It's funny that the dog who worked out for us was the one bought from a pet shop, while the one we did "right" and adopted from an ad on Craigslist was the one whose personality didn't really fit with our family.

I'm not advocating pet shops, of course, but I'm just sayin'...

Good Mews

2008-11-22T02:55:00.004-05:00

Recently, I have had the wonderful opportunity to spend one morning a week volunteering at a local cat shelter called Good Mews. It's a cage-free no-kill shelter that is home to about 100 cats. I have done two shifts so far, and I've really enjoyed it.

You'll probably hear me talk about Good Mews a lot on this blog, so I'll try to describe the basics of how it works. I've never really had the chance to observe how an animal shelter is run, so this has been interesting to me. I'm on the clean and feed shift, which means that me and about 3 other people are in charge of cleaning the litter boxes, vacuuming and mopping the entire shelter, washing toys and bedding, washing and replenishing all the food and water dishes, and feeding each cat, in addition to other tasks. Other volunteers handle the medications for the cats that need that. There are two shifts every day of the year; I'm in the morning shift. All total, I was told there are 300 volunteers that keep Good Mews running!

Being cage-free, Good Mews is divided into rooms. The entire place is painted with bright, happy colors and has an overall pleasant feeling about it. There is the main shelter area, which is where most of the cats are. It has shelves where the cats can hide, several cat trees, benches, and even a TV with a DVD of squirrels and birds! (The cats seem to like it and that makes me smile.) There is a separate room for the kittens - it's closed off from the main shelters so any kittens 9 months and under are not at risk of being injured or catching diseases from older cats. There is also a separate room with cages for cats who are sick. This room is also separate from the shelter and once you enter this room and do any sort of cleaning, you aren't allowed to touch any of the other cats in the shelter again that day. New cats coming into the shelter go to a third separate room where they are kept in cages and observed for two weeks. There are other sections of the shelter, like the offices which just have computer desks and bookshelves, which I might talk about later.

I highly recommend volunteering at an animal shelter if you have the time! I think it's rewarding, and I do enjoy getting to play with the kitties! I was very overwhelmed at first by 100 cats not in cages running around! But the past two times I went I wasn't quite as overwhelmed and even have been able to play with the kitties. I'm still trying to learn their names and who they are so I can greet them by name when I come in to work every week.

Another thing I've learned is of the many things that can be donated to a shelter to help it functioned. One thing they are always in desperate need of is clumping kitty litter. I know how expensive kitty litter can be, and I can't imagine how much they go through each week! Perhaps I'll watch for sales and stock up in order to donate to Good Mews. Things to keep in mind. :-)

If you needed a reason...

2008-11-20T22:04:00.001-05:00

If you needed a reason to get a Roomba vacuum, here it is!

Craigslist ad

2008-11-10T10:44:00.003-05:00

Someone sent me this link to a Craigslist ad this morning. Since Craigslist ads don't stay around forever, I'll copy-paste the text here. (The serious part of me wants to respond to this seriously, but since I'm not sure if it's a legit ad, then I'll treat it with the humor that the author intended. As a disclaimer: I did remove one line about catfighting because I don't think professional animal fighting of any kind is funny. You can read the original ad here.)

Ferocious Attack Kitten (Atlanta)

Ferocious attack kitten is available for adoption to any home willing to accept him.

This destructive kitty has been trained as a proud warrior and will fiercely defend your house, even against you. Well-trained since 10-weeks of age to attack anything in his presence, he will protect your family from evil things, including the following:

* insects
* other trained attack kittens
* babies
* toilet paper
* anything under a blanket
* unwanted house guests
* bathroom faucets
* paper bags
* floor rugs
* Chuck Norris
* Feet.

Great with children (assuming you don’t like the children). He is housebroken, but only because he wants to be. This attack cat has trained himself to seek out his food anywhere you hide it and rip the bag open to feed himself, great for those who travel extensively. Also trained to drink water out of toilet bowls and dishwater from items in the sink. Knows how to open some doors. He will find you wherever you hide.

Neutered (trust me, you wont want to him to procreate). Has not been declawed, but you'll figure that out really fast.

Understands and responds to a variety of vulgar and profane verbal commands. Has a very soft and furry belly, like a teddy bear - however he will bite your face if you try to touch it.

Willing to accept trades. Potential adopters must have experience with trained attack-kittens... please be prepared to show scars.

For the love of God, someone please take this thing out of my house.

But he's so CUTE!

2008-11-06T09:14:00.004-05:00

I really enjoy reading the comic strip For Better or For Worse, which I have been following for years. In the recent strips, they have acquired a little puppy.

This particular strip of the mom, Elly talking to a friend. Her friend is pointing out that a puppy is only going to give her more work and tie her down even more. Elly's response: "But, Connie... He's so CUTE!"

This made me laugh. I've been there. After having Jera, we swore we would never get another puppy. In fact, when we looked for a new dog, we started out by looking for an adult. I pursued several adult dogs before coming across an ad on Craigslist for a puppy. I fell in love... I knew in my head I didn't want to do the whole puppy thing again, but then when I saw her she was just so cute...

Of course, in my case it ended up being a negative thing. Zoey wasn't a bad dog at all, but she wasn't a good fit for our family. I hope to get a dog someday - after we get a house and a yard - and I won't let myself consider a puppy. I've learned my lesson!

But puppies sure are cute, aren't they?

This post by North Carolina health insurance

Sad news from Zoo Atlanta

2008-10-28T15:00:00.006-04:00

I got an email from Zoo Atlanta today with some sad news.

Dear Zoo Atlanta Members and subscribers,

We are very saddened to report to you the sudden and unexpected loss last night of 26-year-old African elephant Dottie. Many of you have been following her pregnancy during the last several months, and the sudden loss of this wonderful animal and her unborn calf is tragic and heartbreaking for us all.

Dottie's health had begun declining last week, and she was on antibiotics to treat unexplained weight loss, cloudy urine and decreased protein levels in her blood. Her health and behavior were closely monitored, as with all of the Zoo's animals, but her death last night was unexpected. As recently as October 24th during a routine ultrasound Dottie still had a viable pregnancy. The exact cause of her death has not been determined.

Dottie was one of three African elephants at Zoo Atlanta. She has been at Zoo Atlanta with Tara and Kelly since November 1986. "I know our veterinary and animal management team worked diligently to ensure she received the best care and treatment possible. This is especially sad for us because Dottie was pregnant with her first calf," said Dennis Kelly, President and CEO. "We will miss her here at Zoo Atlanta."

As our greatest fans and supporters, we wanted you to know as soon as the news was released. We share your grief and thank you for keeping us in your thoughts.

Sincerely,
The Zoo Atlanta Membership team

You can read more on Zoo Atlanta's work holding website here. Also you can see some pictures that I took earlier this year here and here.

Lewis and dinnertime

2008-10-27T18:05:00.006-04:00

Lewis must have been born starving. And for some reason, he's afraid he'll never get another meal.

I don't get it! It's not like I have ever "forgotten" to feed him. But starting about an hour before his mealtime, he cries incessantly for his food. I try not to ever give in so as not to encourage the behavior. It doesn't help that my computer is right next to his dinner bowl. Today I was looking online for an unlocked phone (since I dropped my cell phone in water and now it doesn't work), and he continually meowed pathetically and climbed all over the desk and the chair. He acted all cuddly - rubbing against me, putting his paws on my chest and rubbing his face on my nose or chin - but it didn't work. I remained steadfast about the 5:00 feeding time.

I've thought of a few things. One is to set an alarm and always feed him when the alarm goes off. That way, he won't think that his crying is getting him fed. Or perhaps he'll think that his crying will make the alarm go off faster. I don't know, but it's probably worth a try.

One thing I've also done is get out the spray bottle. We fill a bottle with water and spray the cats when they get on things we don't allow - the counters, the dining room table, and the back of the couches. This time I sprayed him when he meowed. He ran away, and stayed quiet. My husband is concerned that this method is going to confuse him - that Lewis will think I'm punishing him for being near me, and not for crying.

Does anyone have ideas? Is there a way I can communicate to Lewis that I WILL feed him today, and he doesn't have to remind me for an hour straight? Do you think the spray bottle is a good idea, or do you think it just will confuse him?

Kittens and toilet paper

2008-10-25T16:15:00.002-04:00

I saw this adorable video today on Cute Overload.

It reminded me of my cat Misty, when she was a tiny kitten. Shortly after we got her, I got a bad cold. We were living overseas at the time, and boxes of tissues were hard to come by, so we just got used to carrying around rolls of toilet paper when we got colds. I didn't have a nightstand so I had to keep the toilet paper on the floor next to my bed at night, and I found it really annoying having to bend over and get it. Since I was the bottom bunk of bunkbed, I decided to string up toilet paper to the slats of the bed above me. This allowed easy access during the night! It worked great, but one morning my mom woke me up and pointed at the toilet paper. Misty had discovered it during the night and the entire thing was shredded. I don't know HOW she managed to have so much fun on top of me without waking me up!

This post brought to you by computer memory

More frustration

2008-10-19T11:17:00.003-04:00

I've talked about being frustrated with my cats peeing everywhere here.

We moved a few weeks ago, and I was really concerned that they would mess up the new place. We bought some Feliway and put it in the main room (the living/dining room). It seems to be working; no messes to report!

HOWEVER... the bathroom is another story. For the first time in my post-college life, we have a bathroom that doesn't have carpeting! We also have a perfect alcove for the litter box. We try to keep it clean and change it daily because I know cats are fastidious.

At one point, we had three bathrooms so we had 3 bathroom rugs leftover from that. We had put two in the closet and had the one down that matched our shower curtain, towels, and other bathroom accessories. However, the cats peed on that several times and pooped once - completely destroying it. (We thought we'd go replace it, only to discover that it cost $35!!) Then we put another one down, which they peed on. We washed it and put it down again, and they peed twice more. Then we put a third down and they peed on that one several times too. We finally just threw it away.

Today we noticed that they peed in the same place, just right on the linoleum. (Or vinyl. Or whatever the non-carpet-material is in our bathroom.)

I'm frustrated because we've never had trouble with them peeing on the bathroom rugs before. I have the second rug in a plastic bag and when we get back from vacation I'll research the best way to clean it so it gets rid of the pee completely. Perhaps some green products will have the enzymes necessary to kill that smell. I also will need to wash the shower curtain, as they have peed on the bottom of it several times. (It touches the floor when it's hung from the rod.)

I also want to try and find a bathroom rug that's plastic - something that we can step on when getting out of the shower.

Argh!! I love cats, but... so frustrating!!